Nottingham Forest

Wes Morgan can still remember the acute feeling of desolation when he was rejected by Notts County at the age of 15. His dreams of becoming a professional footballer apparently in ruins, he went back to college to continue a business studies degree, and to contemplate an uncertain future. But as Leicester City’s captain prepares to face Chelsea in Sunday’s FA Cup quarter-final, Morgan’s career is testament to the powers of perseverance. He played a leading role in Claudio Ranieri’s fairy tale by winning the Premier League title, has played in a Champions League quarter-final - after they did what Manchester United could not, and beat Sevilla in the round of 16 - and is now closing in on 700 career appearances. “I often speak to young kids trying to make their way into the professional game and tell my story. I think it’s a story that inspires people and tells you never to give up,” he says. “Young lads can be low on confidence, unsure on how things are going to work out but you have to keep going to follow your dreams. “I never thought I’d be in the Premier League when I was released by Notts County. They only offered two YTS contracts and I was the odd one out. I thought that was it, done and dusted for me, and semi-pro would be the best I could get. Morgan played an integral part in the least likely Premier League title win of all time Credit: afp “I was playing for a load of teams with my mates on Saturdays and Sundays, a young lad playing in an adult’s league. Fortunately I got the opportunity to have trials at Nottingham Forest and that’s where it all began. “Now I’m sitting here as a Premier League winner and that’s a magnificent achievement, considering where I came from. I don’t think I’ll truly digest it all until I’ve finished my career.” Morgan’s story is indeed remarkable, and a stirring rags-to-riches tale that has been less documented than more eminent team-mates such as Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez. He moved to Leicester from Nottingham Forest in January 2012 for just £1m after a contract wrangle, with Nigel Pearson’s team stuck in the Championship swamp. The next six years have been what the centre-half describes as “a rollercoaster” and he can never have envisaged what has unfolded. Promotion to the top-flight in 2014 was followed by that stirring Great Escape, when they won seven of their last nine league games to light the blue touch-paper for their incredible title win. Even now, Morgan struggles to escape the memories of May 2016, when he lifted the trophy on an evening which will leave an indelible mark in Premier League history. Morgan's career is testament to the powers of perseverance Credit: John Robertson “I was out shopping in Birmingham a few weeks ago and there was a Leicester fan talking to me about how we won the league, the trophy bus parade going past her house and everything else. It feels surreal, even though it seems so long ago,” he says, sitting in a study room at the club’s training ground. “The Champions League was also an unbelievable time. To reach the quarter-finals was an achievement I don’t think we got enough credit for. We were newcomers and we did it our way. We took Atletico Madrid to the wire. “I’ve had amazing times since I came to Leicester, beyond my wildest dreams if I’m being honest. But football is always moving and you can’t stand still or be dwelling on the past. “The time to really look back and remember the special moments is when there are no interruptions.” Morgan has a special reason to ensure Claude Puel’s Leicester can complete a miserable week for Chelsea and Antonio Conte, whose European excursions were ended by Barcelona on Wednesday. The FA Cup is one competition in which Morgan has endured frustration, never progressing beyond the quarter-finals. “I would say it’s the last box to be ticked for me. Everyone knows the history and prestige of the competition, being an FA Cup winner would be second to winning the league,” he says. My favourite ever Premier League match “I’m not getting any younger so there’s not too many years left for me to do something in this competition. I’m 34 now, I’ve got a year left [on my contract] and I’m definitely feeling the aches and pains. This could be my last big chance.” There will also be an element of revenge for Morgan at the King Power Stadium on Sunday, as it was against Chelsea that his FA Cup dream ended in 2012. Fernando Torres ended a 24-game goal drought with two goals as a Chelsea team including the likes of Petr Cech, Juan Mata and Daniel Sturridge coasted to a 5-2 victory. “That was a real down-point, especially at that stage in my career. But this is definitely the biggest tie of the round and a huge chance for us to reach a semi-final at Wembley. “Chelsea have not done as well as they expected this season, they are now out of the Champions League, so they will probably see the FA Cup as something to make their season positive, rather like ourselves. There’s a lot to play for. “I’ve not experienced a semi-final before but we’ve got a good chance of it happening. This would definitely keep the fairy tale going...”

Wes Morgan can still remember the acute feeling of desolation when he was rejected by Notts County at the age of 15. His dreams of becoming a professional footballer apparently in ruins, he went back to college to continue a business studies degree, and to contemplate an uncertain future. But as Leicester City’s captain prepares to face Chelsea in Sunday’s FA Cup quarter-final, Morgan’s career is testament to the powers of perseverance. He played a leading role in Claudio Ranieri’s fairy tale by winning the Premier League title, has played in a Champions League quarter-final - after they did what Manchester United could not, and beat Sevilla in the round of 16 - and is now closing in on 700 career appearances. “I often speak to young kids trying to make their way into the professional game and tell my story. I think it’s a story that inspires people and tells you never to give up,” he says. “Young lads can be low on confidence, unsure on how things are going to work out but you have to keep going to follow your dreams. “I never thought I’d be in the Premier League when I was released by Notts County. They only offered two YTS contracts and I was the odd one out. I thought that was it, done and dusted for me, and semi-pro would be the best I could get. Morgan played an integral part in the least likely Premier League title win of all time Credit: afp “I was playing for a load of teams with my mates on Saturdays and Sundays, a young lad playing in an adult’s league. Fortunately I got the opportunity to have trials at Nottingham Forest and that’s where it all began. “Now I’m sitting here as a Premier League winner and that’s a magnificent achievement, considering where I came from. I don’t think I’ll truly digest it all until I’ve finished my career.” Morgan’s story is indeed remarkable, and a stirring rags-to-riches tale that has been less documented than more eminent team-mates such as Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez. He moved to Leicester from Nottingham Forest in January 2012 for just £1m after a contract wrangle, with Nigel Pearson’s team stuck in the Championship swamp. The next six years have been what the centre-half describes as “a rollercoaster” and he can never have envisaged what has unfolded. Promotion to the top-flight in 2014 was followed by that stirring Great Escape, when they won seven of their last nine league games to light the blue touch-paper for their incredible title win. Even now, Morgan struggles to escape the memories of May 2016, when he lifted the trophy on an evening which will leave an indelible mark in Premier League history. Morgan's career is testament to the powers of perseverance Credit: John Robertson “I was out shopping in Birmingham a few weeks ago and there was a Leicester fan talking to me about how we won the league, the trophy bus parade going past her house and everything else. It feels surreal, even though it seems so long ago,” he says, sitting in a study room at the club’s training ground. “The Champions League was also an unbelievable time. To reach the quarter-finals was an achievement I don’t think we got enough credit for. We were newcomers and we did it our way. We took Atletico Madrid to the wire. “I’ve had amazing times since I came to Leicester, beyond my wildest dreams if I’m being honest. But football is always moving and you can’t stand still or be dwelling on the past. “The time to really look back and remember the special moments is when there are no interruptions.” Morgan has a special reason to ensure Claude Puel’s Leicester can complete a miserable week for Chelsea and Antonio Conte, whose European excursions were ended by Barcelona on Wednesday. The FA Cup is one competition in which Morgan has endured frustration, never progressing beyond the quarter-finals. “I would say it’s the last box to be ticked for me. Everyone knows the history and prestige of the competition, being an FA Cup winner would be second to winning the league,” he says. My favourite ever Premier League match “I’m not getting any younger so there’s not too many years left for me to do something in this competition. I’m 34 now, I’ve got a year left [on my contract] and I’m definitely feeling the aches and pains. This could be my last big chance.” There will also be an element of revenge for Morgan at the King Power Stadium on Sunday, as it was against Chelsea that his FA Cup dream ended in 2012. Fernando Torres ended a 24-game goal drought with two goals as a Chelsea team including the likes of Petr Cech, Juan Mata and Daniel Sturridge coasted to a 5-2 victory. “That was a real down-point, especially at that stage in my career. But this is definitely the biggest tie of the round and a huge chance for us to reach a semi-final at Wembley. “Chelsea have not done as well as they expected this season, they are now out of the Champions League, so they will probably see the FA Cup as something to make their season positive, rather like ourselves. There’s a lot to play for. “I’ve not experienced a semi-final before but we’ve got a good chance of it happening. This would definitely keep the fairy tale going...”

Wes Morgan can still remember the acute feeling of desolation when he was rejected by Notts County at the age of 15. His dreams of becoming a professional footballer apparently in ruins, he went back to college to continue a business studies degree, and to contemplate an uncertain future. But as Leicester City’s captain prepares to face Chelsea in Sunday’s FA Cup quarter-final, Morgan’s career is testament to the powers of perseverance. He played a leading role in Claudio Ranieri’s fairy tale by winning the Premier League title, has played in a Champions League quarter-final - after they did what Manchester United could not, and beat Sevilla in the round of 16 - and is now closing in on 700 career appearances. “I often speak to young kids trying to make their way into the professional game and tell my story. I think it’s a story that inspires people and tells you never to give up,” he says. “Young lads can be low on confidence, unsure on how things are going to work out but you have to keep going to follow your dreams. “I never thought I’d be in the Premier League when I was released by Notts County. They only offered two YTS contracts and I was the odd one out. I thought that was it, done and dusted for me, and semi-pro would be the best I could get. Morgan played an integral part in the least likely Premier League title win of all time Credit: afp “I was playing for a load of teams with my mates on Saturdays and Sundays, a young lad playing in an adult’s league. Fortunately I got the opportunity to have trials at Nottingham Forest and that’s where it all began. “Now I’m sitting here as a Premier League winner and that’s a magnificent achievement, considering where I came from. I don’t think I’ll truly digest it all until I’ve finished my career.” Morgan’s story is indeed remarkable, and a stirring rags-to-riches tale that has been less documented than more eminent team-mates such as Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez. He moved to Leicester from Nottingham Forest in January 2012 for just £1m after a contract wrangle, with Nigel Pearson’s team stuck in the Championship swamp. The next six years have been what the centre-half describes as “a rollercoaster” and he can never have envisaged what has unfolded. Promotion to the top-flight in 2014 was followed by that stirring Great Escape, when they won seven of their last nine league games to light the blue touch-paper for their incredible title win. Even now, Morgan struggles to escape the memories of May 2016, when he lifted the trophy on an evening which will leave an indelible mark in Premier League history. Morgan's career is testament to the powers of perseverance Credit: John Robertson “I was out shopping in Birmingham a few weeks ago and there was a Leicester fan talking to me about how we won the league, the trophy bus parade going past her house and everything else. It feels surreal, even though it seems so long ago,” he says, sitting in a study room at the club’s training ground. “The Champions League was also an unbelievable time. To reach the quarter-finals was an achievement I don’t think we got enough credit for. We were newcomers and we did it our way. We took Atletico Madrid to the wire. “I’ve had amazing times since I came to Leicester, beyond my wildest dreams if I’m being honest. But football is always moving and you can’t stand still or be dwelling on the past. “The time to really look back and remember the special moments is when there are no interruptions.” Morgan has a special reason to ensure Claude Puel’s Leicester can complete a miserable week for Chelsea and Antonio Conte, whose European excursions were ended by Barcelona on Wednesday. The FA Cup is one competition in which Morgan has endured frustration, never progressing beyond the quarter-finals. “I would say it’s the last box to be ticked for me. Everyone knows the history and prestige of the competition, being an FA Cup winner would be second to winning the league,” he says. My favourite ever Premier League match “I’m not getting any younger so there’s not too many years left for me to do something in this competition. I’m 34 now, I’ve got a year left [on my contract] and I’m definitely feeling the aches and pains. This could be my last big chance.” There will also be an element of revenge for Morgan at the King Power Stadium on Sunday, as it was against Chelsea that his FA Cup dream ended in 2012. Fernando Torres ended a 24-game goal drought with two goals as a Chelsea team including the likes of Petr Cech, Juan Mata and Daniel Sturridge coasted to a 5-2 victory. “That was a real down-point, especially at that stage in my career. But this is definitely the biggest tie of the round and a huge chance for us to reach a semi-final at Wembley. “Chelsea have not done as well as they expected this season, they are now out of the Champions League, so they will probably see the FA Cup as something to make their season positive, rather like ourselves. There’s a lot to play for. “I’ve not experienced a semi-final before but we’ve got a good chance of it happening. This would definitely keep the fairy tale going...”

According to the Mauricio Pochettino world view, it is the “process” that matters most, rather than a single moment of triumph. The journey, his thinking goes, is more than important than the final destination. By that logic, we can safely deduce that Pochettino will have enjoyed his side’s performance here, against a thoroughly outclassed Swansea City, just as much as the comprehensive scoreline. This was an afternoon, and a Tottenham showing, that could be savoured in its purest sense, rather than because of what it means in their search for a trophy, or what it shows they can do without the injured Harry Kane. This is not to belittle the importance of reaching a second consecutive FA Cup semi-final, or the significance of attacking so fluidly without their top scorer. It is more to marvel at the quality they showed in these 90 minutes, the ease with which they savaged their opponents and, above all, the brilliance of Christian Eriksen. One of only four players to keep his place in the side from last week’s thrashing of Bournemouth, Eriksen was at his surgical best against a Swansea side that was ripe for slicing. A master of angles and movement, he drifted and schemed, passed and moved, slowed it down and sped it up. He also scored, twice, from outside the penalty area. Joining him on the scoresheet was Erik Lamela, another who was able to float around south Wales at will, while there were similarly impressive performances in attack from the likes of Lucas Moura and Son Heung-Min. Even Moussa Sissoko, playing in the centre of midfield, did not look out of place. The only sour note for the visitors was another unwelcome intervention from the dreaded video assistant referee, which Pochettino branded a “nightmare” after Son was denied a goal by a contentious offside decision. “We are going to have a massive problem for the future,” Pochettino said, a day after Fifa confirmed the system will be used at this summer’s World Cup. How Dele Alli went from borrowed boots to the best 21 year-old in the world As for Swansea’s future, attentions will now be fully diverted towards their fight to avoid relegation. A first FA Cup quarter final since 1964 promised much but delivered little, and more than a few chunks of the home support did not return to their seats after half-time. “I am not disappointed,” said Carlos Carvalhal, their manager. “A storm came today, but good weather will follow for us.” With three central defenders and just two central midfielders, Carvalhal’s side had problems from the start against Tottenham’s posse of attacking playmakers. Eriksen, Lamela and Moura had too much time and too much space, while Son, playing as the lone striker in Kane’s absence, was all too willing to drop in and join in with the fun. It left Swansea outnumbered in the area of the pitch where Eriksen does the most damage, and it was no surprise to see the great Dane ambling through the home side’s midfield after little more than 10 minutes. Swansea retreated, Eriksen kept going, Swansea backed off some more and Eriksen smashed the ball into the top corner. It was hardly the most complex attacking move, but it was a wonderful finish, both powerful and precise, from Eriksen’s left boot. “He is fantastic,” said Pochettino. “He is so important for us. Every season he takes one step up.” Christian Eriksen celebrates scoring his side's third goal of the game with his teammates, Credit: PA The Tottenham dominance continued unabated after the goal, with Lamela having particular joy alongside Eriksen. Lucas nearly added a second after a delicate turn inside the penalty box, while Son threatened with his darting bursts in behind. Son then looked to be in on goal after a chipped pass by Eriksen, but the South Korean was flagged offside just as he prodded the ball into the back of the net. It was a close decision, and close enough for the referee, Kevin Friend, to consult with the dreaded VAR. Once again, the decision took an age, with the baffled home crowd eventually erupting in boos as Friend stood motionless, his finger pressed firmly to his ear, in the freezing Welsh wind. “I feel sorry for the people trying to use that system,” Pochettino said. “I prefer it when the referee and the assistant make mistakes than to wait three or four minutes for things.” The replays finally confirmed that the decision was marginal, and the original decision stood. But there was a second problem, and one that has yet to fully rear its head this season, in that Friend had blown his whistle for offside before Son had stuck the ball in the net. There was more VAR controversy when Son's goal was ruled out If the VAR had conclusively shown that Son was onside, what then? The goal, surely, could not have stood, because Kristoffer Nordfeldt, the Swansea goalkeeper, had stopped playing once the whistle had been blown. Yet more questions, then, and more reason to be nervous about the use of this technology at the World Cup. Asked about the decision, Carvalhal chose to keep his hands out of the fire. “When you lose 3-0,” he said. “It is better to just shut up and go home.” Fortunately for all involved, the incident was swiftly reduced to little more than a sideshow. Eriksen continued to probe, striking the bar with another fierce left-footed shot, before Eric Dier headed over from close range. The second was always coming, though, and it was Lamela who scored it with a cool finish from the edge of the box after rolling the ball artfully beneath his studs. Swansea did push on after the break, with Tammy Abraham forcing a diving save from Tottenham’s Michel Vorm, but it was always going to take something drastic to halt the tide. Lucas, who was causing no end trouble on the left wing, soon teed up Eriksen to blast home his second and Tottenham’s third. From there, the visitors could have had their pick of how many they wanted to score. Gradually, though, they settled into a walk, content with another job well done, and another step forward in Pochettino’s much-loved journey. 2:10PM Full-time That was like shelling peas for Spurs today. They are on their way to Wembley, again, and into the FA Cup semi-final. Despite Pochettino's attempts to play it cool, they have a fantastic chance to win some silverware. 2:06PM 89 minutes Tammy Abraham is down, hit the turf with nobody around him which is always a worrying sign. The Swansea striker is holding his thigh by the looks of things. 2:06PM 87 minutes Everyone is counting time waiting for the full-time whistle. Christian Eriksen is the man of the match, one of the easiest decisions all season. 2:03PM 85 minutes Eriksen whipped the free-kick towards the near post and the goalkeeper fumbles. Llorente tries to score on the rebound but his shot is blocked. Pinball in the Swansea area but they clear. 2:01PM 83 minutes Son still hard at it down the left hand side, but Bartley clears his cross for a corner. Spurs work a short one and Ki cynically brings down Ben Davies. Spurs free-kick. 1:58PM 80 minutes Dele Alli coming on for the last 10 minutes. You'd think Pochettino would rest him completely, but it seems to be a trend nowadays to keep players warm and ticking over to avoid injuries. 1:56PM 79 minutes Very nearly four. Perfectly weighted through ball by Lamela between right-back and right centre back for Son, who plays a ball across the six-yard line. Was begging to be tucked away. 1:53PM 76 minutes Tom Carroll clumps a pass out for a goal kick with all the finesse of a rhino. Groans from the Swansea fans who are still in the ground. After a decent first 10 minutes in both halves, they have not really been in this game. 1:52PM 74 minutes Spurs fans, who do you fancy in the semis? It looks set up for a re-match against Chelsea. 1:48PM 70 minutes The Spurs fans are ole-ing as their team stroke the ball around under little pressure. Fernando Llorent is about to replace Lucas Moura. Llorente's only Premier League goal for Spurs came on this ground. 1:46PM 68 minutes Terrific cross whipped in by Kieran Trippier but Mawson does well to head clear. If this was a boxing match, Carlos Carvalhal would be reaching for the towel. Spurs are swarming all over them. 1:43PM 65 minutes Spurs could turn this into a rout, if they can muster the effort. Sissoko's final ball lets him down yet again with Swansea wide open on the counter-attack. 1:41PM Goalkeeper should do better Swansea get caught in possession trying to play out from the back and Lucas Moura receives the ball in the penalty area. Shows good composure to set it for Eriksen who is hovering just outside the area and his deflected shot goes through Nordfeldt. 1:39PM GGGOOOOAAALLL! 3-0 Spurs Eriksen again, this time with a deflected shot. 1:38PM 61 minutes Neat work from Spurs around the edge of Swansea's box as Eriksen's flicked header finds Son but Bartley blocks his shot. 'We're going to Wembley', sing the Spurs fans. 1:36PM 57 minutes Spurs steadying themselves and re-asserting their authority on this match. Eriksen works a short corner and whips a ball across the area but van der Hoorn clears for another corner. Lamela wins another to maintain the pressure, but Swansea survive. 1:32PM 55 minutes Comical defending from van der Hoorn. Isolated against Lucas Moura who twists him one way and then the other, the Swansea defender takes drastic action and dives head first at the ball. Won it cleanly, in fairness to him. 1:30PM 52 minutes Swansea are at least enjoying some possession in the Spurs half, and produced another dangerous moment. Fantastic defence header from Sanchez only a few yards from goal under pressure from Abraham. 1:27PM 49 minutes That double chance has given the hosts some energy and life. Davinson Sanchez does not always inspire confidence in possession, and nervously shovels the ball back to Vorm. Another superb strike from distance, this time by Eric Dier. Norfeldt tips over his rasping shot from 30 yards over the bar. 1:25PM SAVE! That's more like it, and brilliant double save by former Swansea stopper Michel Vorm. Fierce strike from distance by Olsson is beaten away, then he is back up to save Abraham's re-bound. 1:23PM Any chance of a comeback? Surely Swansea have to roll the dice in the second half? We're back under way, and the home side have switched to a back four. 1:17PM Our man Sam Dean is at the Liberty Swansea had a major problem in midfield all half. Totally outnumbered in there, with three centre backs marking space while Lamela, Eriksen, Son and Lucas had some fun in front of them. Surely they'll change it up...— Sam Dean (@SamJDean) March 17, 2018 1:15PM Ledley not too impressed Anyone understand VAR yet??? Perfect run/pass/goal chalked off after being reviewed ��— Ledley King (@LedleyKing) March 17, 2018 1:13PM No Kane, no problem Swansea have been far too passive, but there's a lovely balance to this Spurs attack. Even with Harry Kane in the team, they sometimes lack a little bit of pace but Lucas Moura and Heung-min Son are providing speed and directness. Combined with Erik Lamela and Chrisitian Eriksen pulling the strings, it is giving Swansea a dilemma. Push up and Lucas or Son could be in with the right pass, drop deep and Eriksen gets time and space. 1:06PM Half-time That's that for the first 45 minutes. Not much of a contest so far. 1:05PM GGGGOOOOAAALLL! 2-0 Spurs Another fine Spurs goal, and once again a player scores with his weaker foot. Lamela picks the ball up in front of the Swansea defence, they back away and invite him to shoot from just outside the area. His right-footed shot wrong-foots the goal keeper and nestles in the bottom corner. Tie-over, surely? 1:03PM 45 minutes Unconvincing from Sissoko, who lets a long ball bounce when he was last man but he just about holds off Dyer. Three added minutes, most of that down to the use of VAR. 1:01PM 43 minutes Sissoko leads the charge on a dangerous counter-attack that breaks down with a blocked Son shot. Should have waited for Lucas Moura to arrive who was sprinting unmarked down the right. 12:59PM 41 minutes Swansea finally try to put a press on, but Spurs keep the ball calmly in their own half. Difficult to see a way back for Swansea unless the visitors take their foot off the pedal in spectacular fashion. 12:57PM 39 minutes Another decent chance for Spurs. Eric Dier rises high from and Eriksen corner and thumps a header over the bar. Was under a little bit of pressure, but should have hit the target. 12:55PM CLOSE! What a save by Nordfeldt to deny Eriksen another stunner. The Dane let fly with his left foot from 25 yards but the Swansea keeper tipped the swerving shot onto the crossbar. Swansea just about still alive. 12:52PM 35 minutes Swansea's best spell of the game. Nathan Dyer gets in a foot-race with Vertonghen and gets there first. Lays it off for Ki, but his cross in is poor and Spurs can clear their lines. A little bit of encouragement. 12:51PM 32 minutes Erik Lamela might be silky in possession, but is very fond of a cynical foul too. Swansea win a free-kick to release the pressure momentarily. 12:48PM 30 minutes Swansea fans are starting to get tetchy, urging their team to push higher up the pitch and take the initiative. Lovely vision from Eriksen once again to find Lamela in space down the left, and he whips a wicked ball across the six-yard box that just evades Lucas Moura. 12:45PM Not much in that 12:44PM 26 minutes That was a marginal call, and we have to ask if it's worth interrupting the pattern of a football match for the a ske of a few percent accuracy. Eriksen has been the best player on the pitch by a country mile. 12:42PM 22 minutes Right, here we go. Eriksen lifted a chipped pass over the top for Son, who plucked it out of the sky and smashed a shot in off the crossbar, but the linesman raised his flag for offside. The referee has paused the re-start of play to use VAR. It was so tight, but the original decision stands. The whistle had already blown when Son took his shot, which would have been another layer of controversy. 12:38PM 20 minutes All very beige in the first 20 minutes bar that moment of Eriksen excellence. Fantastic recovery challenge by soon to be England international Alfie Mawson just as Lucas Moura was threatening to get to the bar-line. 12:36PM Eriksen's strike Credit: Getty Images 12:35PM 15 minutes Swansea are unable to keep the ball for more than two or three passes. Good defending by Bartley to cover a threatening dart from Son in behind, then Naughton clears his lines after promising play from Lamela. 12:32PM 14 minutes Swansea creaking. Lucas Moura waltzes into the penalty area unchallenged, but his shot from 10 yards or so is tame and straight at the goalkeeper. 12:30PM Swansea back off, but marvellous goal Swansea have been content to drop off at all times, but that opens up space between the lines. Eriksen picked the ball up in a central midfield position, ran at Swansea's defence and curled a left-footed shot into the top left corner from just outside the penalty area. 12:28PM GGGOOOOAAALLLL! 1-0 Spurs Sumptuous finish from Christian Eriksen gives Spurs the lead. 12:27PM 8 minutes It is 10 years since Spurs' last major trophy, and that was the League Cup. They haven't reached an FA Cup final since 1991 when they beat Nottingham Forest, a game remembered for Paul Gascoigne breaking his leg. Quiet start so far. 12:25PM 5 minutes Jan Vertonghen steps out with ball and plays a pass that dissects Swansea's defence but Son was rightly flagged for offside. Co-commentator Danny Mills isn't sure about Son playing as a centre forward. He says he prefers to see him deep, running past the striker. Come again? 12:22PM 4 minutes Spurs settle into a long period of controlled possession in the Swansea half, much of it flowing through Christian Eriksen. Swansea are well-used to this though, and let Arsenal and Liverpool dominate the ball in unlikely home league wins. 12:19PM 2 minutes Looks like a 5-4-1 for Swansea with Tammy Abraham up top. Plenty of empty seats around the ground which is a bit disappointing to see. Early danger for Spurs but Vorm does well to rush off his line and take the ball cleanly from the feet of Nathan Dyer. 12:17PM We're off Sun is out at the Liberty Stadium, and Spurs get us going. A reminder that VAR is in use. What a joy. 12:14PM Kick-off moments away Spurs have made hard work of the FA Cup thus far, needing replays to get past Newport and Rochdale, but Premier League opposition should sharpen minds. Players are on their way out. 12:11PM The teams the old-fashioned way Swansea XI: Nordfeldt, Naughton, Van der Hoorn, Bartley, Mawson, Olsson, Ki Sung-Yeung, Carroll , Clucas, Dyer, Abraham. Subs: Mulder, Roberts, Fernandez, Britton, Byers, Routledge, Narsingh. Tottenham XI: Vorm, Trippier, Sanchez, Vertonghen, Davies, Dier, Sissoko, Lamela, Eriksen, Lucas, Son. Subs: Lloris, Aurier, Alderweireld, Foyth, Dembele, Alli, Llorente. 11:56AM Sam Clucas interview Plucked from obscurity by Glenn Hoddle, Sam Clucas is now an indespensible part of Swansea's midfield. Read his interview with Oliver Brown here. 11:44AM Three at the back for Swansea Former Arsenal player Kyle Bartley captains Swansea today, and starts in the middle of a back three, a defensive system Carlos Carvalhal has turned before against top opposition. It's a big day for Tammy Abraham up front. His loan spell from Chelsea started promisingly, but struggles for form and fitness have stalled his progress. Chelsea's strikers are not pulling up any trees, so a few good performances in high profile matches such as these could earn him a shot at first-team football at Stamford Bridge next season. 11:26AM No recognised striker for Spurs Pochettino sticks with the formula that worked to perfection in last week's 4-1 win at Bournemouth - not picking an orthodox centre forward. All a bit demoralising for poor old Fernando Llorente, who has bided his time behind Harry Kane and must have thought Kane's injury offered him a run in the side. Erik Lamela, Lucas Moura and Son Heung-min will form a mobile and fluid forward line that offers plenty of counter-attacking threat. 11:17AM Swansea team and subs Let's do this! �� ⬇️ Today's team for #SWATOT ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/4qL4KyPRuS— Swansea City AFC (@SwansOfficial) March 17, 2018 11:17AM Spurs team and subs - Fernando Llorente starts on the bench against his old club #THFC: Vorm, Trippier, Sanchez, Vertonghen (C), Davies, Dier, Sissoko, Lamela, Eriksen, Lucas, Son. #COYSpic.twitter.com/gek6hB0wb7— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) March 17, 2018 11:14AM How badly do Spurs need silverware? FA Cup quarter-final day is not quite what it once was, but the competition is Tottenham's last chance to end a 10-year wait for major silverware. They travel to freezing cold Swansea, resurgent under charismatic manager Carlos Caralhal, but not for the first time Maurcio Pochettino has downplayed winning the cup as a mark of progress. Pochettino said: "The Premier League or La Liga or the Bundesliga or the Calcio (Serie A), not only you need luck - you need to deserve to win this type of title. "Then there are short competitions, like in the World Cup. When Argentina arrived in Japan (2002 World Cup), I think we were first in the FIFA classifications but we didn't arrive in the best form and were out in the group stage. You need luck. "To win the Premier League is different. I don't know if who wins the titles like FA Cup or League Cup is the best team. "The Premier League is the true test because you need the whole squad to be involved then the competition is 38 games, 10 months. "League Cup, Copa del Rey, FA Cup… they are very short periods and sometimes it is a coincidence, maybe you have some players not in good form, you compete and you are out. "It's completely different. There are competitions that if you win, fantastic. But if you don't win, nothing changes. "When you win a real tournament, when you play under pressure and perform at your best over 10 months, in that moment is when you start to learn about winning. "What it means to be winners, what it means to be professional. That is one step when you start to understand in your head." Defender Toby Alderweireld may return to Tottenham's team after resuming training following a leg injury. Striker Harry Kane remains sidelined with a damaged ankle and is unlikely to return to training until next month but is expected to be fit for the World Cup. Teams to follow shortly.

According to the Mauricio Pochettino world view, it is the “process” that matters most, rather than a single moment of triumph. The journey, his thinking goes, is more than important than the final destination. By that logic, we can safely deduce that Pochettino will have enjoyed his side’s performance here, against a thoroughly outclassed Swansea City, just as much as the comprehensive scoreline. This was an afternoon, and a Tottenham showing, that could be savoured in its purest sense, rather than because of what it means in their search for a trophy, or what it shows they can do without the injured Harry Kane. This is not to belittle the importance of reaching a second consecutive FA Cup semi-final, or the significance of attacking so fluidly without their top scorer. It is more to marvel at the quality they showed in these 90 minutes, the ease with which they savaged their opponents and, above all, the brilliance of Christian Eriksen. One of only four players to keep his place in the side from last week’s thrashing of Bournemouth, Eriksen was at his surgical best against a Swansea side that was ripe for slicing. A master of angles and movement, he drifted and schemed, passed and moved, slowed it down and sped it up. He also scored, twice, from outside the penalty area. Joining him on the scoresheet was Erik Lamela, another who was able to float around south Wales at will, while there were similarly impressive performances in attack from the likes of Lucas Moura and Son Heung-Min. Even Moussa Sissoko, playing in the centre of midfield, did not look out of place. The only sour note for the visitors was another unwelcome intervention from the dreaded video assistant referee, which Pochettino branded a “nightmare” after Son was denied a goal by a contentious offside decision. “We are going to have a massive problem for the future,” Pochettino said, a day after Fifa confirmed the system will be used at this summer’s World Cup. How Dele Alli went from borrowed boots to the best 21 year-old in the world As for Swansea’s future, attentions will now be fully diverted towards their fight to avoid relegation. A first FA Cup quarter final since 1964 promised much but delivered little, and more than a few chunks of the home support did not return to their seats after half-time. “I am not disappointed,” said Carlos Carvalhal, their manager. “A storm came today, but good weather will follow for us.” With three central defenders and just two central midfielders, Carvalhal’s side had problems from the start against Tottenham’s posse of attacking playmakers. Eriksen, Lamela and Moura had too much time and too much space, while Son, playing as the lone striker in Kane’s absence, was all too willing to drop in and join in with the fun. It left Swansea outnumbered in the area of the pitch where Eriksen does the most damage, and it was no surprise to see the great Dane ambling through the home side’s midfield after little more than 10 minutes. Swansea retreated, Eriksen kept going, Swansea backed off some more and Eriksen smashed the ball into the top corner. It was hardly the most complex attacking move, but it was a wonderful finish, both powerful and precise, from Eriksen’s left boot. “He is fantastic,” said Pochettino. “He is so important for us. Every season he takes one step up.” Christian Eriksen celebrates scoring his side's third goal of the game with his teammates, Credit: PA The Tottenham dominance continued unabated after the goal, with Lamela having particular joy alongside Eriksen. Lucas nearly added a second after a delicate turn inside the penalty box, while Son threatened with his darting bursts in behind. Son then looked to be in on goal after a chipped pass by Eriksen, but the South Korean was flagged offside just as he prodded the ball into the back of the net. It was a close decision, and close enough for the referee, Kevin Friend, to consult with the dreaded VAR. Once again, the decision took an age, with the baffled home crowd eventually erupting in boos as Friend stood motionless, his finger pressed firmly to his ear, in the freezing Welsh wind. “I feel sorry for the people trying to use that system,” Pochettino said. “I prefer it when the referee and the assistant make mistakes than to wait three or four minutes for things.” The replays finally confirmed that the decision was marginal, and the original decision stood. But there was a second problem, and one that has yet to fully rear its head this season, in that Friend had blown his whistle for offside before Son had stuck the ball in the net. There was more VAR controversy when Son's goal was ruled out If the VAR had conclusively shown that Son was onside, what then? The goal, surely, could not have stood, because Kristoffer Nordfeldt, the Swansea goalkeeper, had stopped playing once the whistle had been blown. Yet more questions, then, and more reason to be nervous about the use of this technology at the World Cup. Asked about the decision, Carvalhal chose to keep his hands out of the fire. “When you lose 3-0,” he said. “It is better to just shut up and go home.” Fortunately for all involved, the incident was swiftly reduced to little more than a sideshow. Eriksen continued to probe, striking the bar with another fierce left-footed shot, before Eric Dier headed over from close range. The second was always coming, though, and it was Lamela who scored it with a cool finish from the edge of the box after rolling the ball artfully beneath his studs. Swansea did push on after the break, with Tammy Abraham forcing a diving save from Tottenham’s Michel Vorm, but it was always going to take something drastic to halt the tide. Lucas, who was causing no end trouble on the left wing, soon teed up Eriksen to blast home his second and Tottenham’s third. From there, the visitors could have had their pick of how many they wanted to score. Gradually, though, they settled into a walk, content with another job well done, and another step forward in Pochettino’s much-loved journey. 2:10PM Full-time That was like shelling peas for Spurs today. They are on their way to Wembley, again, and into the FA Cup semi-final. Despite Pochettino's attempts to play it cool, they have a fantastic chance to win some silverware. 2:06PM 89 minutes Tammy Abraham is down, hit the turf with nobody around him which is always a worrying sign. The Swansea striker is holding his thigh by the looks of things. 2:06PM 87 minutes Everyone is counting time waiting for the full-time whistle. Christian Eriksen is the man of the match, one of the easiest decisions all season. 2:03PM 85 minutes Eriksen whipped the free-kick towards the near post and the goalkeeper fumbles. Llorente tries to score on the rebound but his shot is blocked. Pinball in the Swansea area but they clear. 2:01PM 83 minutes Son still hard at it down the left hand side, but Bartley clears his cross for a corner. Spurs work a short one and Ki cynically brings down Ben Davies. Spurs free-kick. 1:58PM 80 minutes Dele Alli coming on for the last 10 minutes. You'd think Pochettino would rest him completely, but it seems to be a trend nowadays to keep players warm and ticking over to avoid injuries. 1:56PM 79 minutes Very nearly four. Perfectly weighted through ball by Lamela between right-back and right centre back for Son, who plays a ball across the six-yard line. Was begging to be tucked away. 1:53PM 76 minutes Tom Carroll clumps a pass out for a goal kick with all the finesse of a rhino. Groans from the Swansea fans who are still in the ground. After a decent first 10 minutes in both halves, they have not really been in this game. 1:52PM 74 minutes Spurs fans, who do you fancy in the semis? It looks set up for a re-match against Chelsea. 1:48PM 70 minutes The Spurs fans are ole-ing as their team stroke the ball around under little pressure. Fernando Llorent is about to replace Lucas Moura. Llorente's only Premier League goal for Spurs came on this ground. 1:46PM 68 minutes Terrific cross whipped in by Kieran Trippier but Mawson does well to head clear. If this was a boxing match, Carlos Carvalhal would be reaching for the towel. Spurs are swarming all over them. 1:43PM 65 minutes Spurs could turn this into a rout, if they can muster the effort. Sissoko's final ball lets him down yet again with Swansea wide open on the counter-attack. 1:41PM Goalkeeper should do better Swansea get caught in possession trying to play out from the back and Lucas Moura receives the ball in the penalty area. Shows good composure to set it for Eriksen who is hovering just outside the area and his deflected shot goes through Nordfeldt. 1:39PM GGGOOOOAAALLL! 3-0 Spurs Eriksen again, this time with a deflected shot. 1:38PM 61 minutes Neat work from Spurs around the edge of Swansea's box as Eriksen's flicked header finds Son but Bartley blocks his shot. 'We're going to Wembley', sing the Spurs fans. 1:36PM 57 minutes Spurs steadying themselves and re-asserting their authority on this match. Eriksen works a short corner and whips a ball across the area but van der Hoorn clears for another corner. Lamela wins another to maintain the pressure, but Swansea survive. 1:32PM 55 minutes Comical defending from van der Hoorn. Isolated against Lucas Moura who twists him one way and then the other, the Swansea defender takes drastic action and dives head first at the ball. Won it cleanly, in fairness to him. 1:30PM 52 minutes Swansea are at least enjoying some possession in the Spurs half, and produced another dangerous moment. Fantastic defence header from Sanchez only a few yards from goal under pressure from Abraham. 1:27PM 49 minutes That double chance has given the hosts some energy and life. Davinson Sanchez does not always inspire confidence in possession, and nervously shovels the ball back to Vorm. Another superb strike from distance, this time by Eric Dier. Norfeldt tips over his rasping shot from 30 yards over the bar. 1:25PM SAVE! That's more like it, and brilliant double save by former Swansea stopper Michel Vorm. Fierce strike from distance by Olsson is beaten away, then he is back up to save Abraham's re-bound. 1:23PM Any chance of a comeback? Surely Swansea have to roll the dice in the second half? We're back under way, and the home side have switched to a back four. 1:17PM Our man Sam Dean is at the Liberty Swansea had a major problem in midfield all half. Totally outnumbered in there, with three centre backs marking space while Lamela, Eriksen, Son and Lucas had some fun in front of them. Surely they'll change it up...— Sam Dean (@SamJDean) March 17, 2018 1:15PM Ledley not too impressed Anyone understand VAR yet??? Perfect run/pass/goal chalked off after being reviewed ��— Ledley King (@LedleyKing) March 17, 2018 1:13PM No Kane, no problem Swansea have been far too passive, but there's a lovely balance to this Spurs attack. Even with Harry Kane in the team, they sometimes lack a little bit of pace but Lucas Moura and Heung-min Son are providing speed and directness. Combined with Erik Lamela and Chrisitian Eriksen pulling the strings, it is giving Swansea a dilemma. Push up and Lucas or Son could be in with the right pass, drop deep and Eriksen gets time and space. 1:06PM Half-time That's that for the first 45 minutes. Not much of a contest so far. 1:05PM GGGGOOOOAAALLL! 2-0 Spurs Another fine Spurs goal, and once again a player scores with his weaker foot. Lamela picks the ball up in front of the Swansea defence, they back away and invite him to shoot from just outside the area. His right-footed shot wrong-foots the goal keeper and nestles in the bottom corner. Tie-over, surely? 1:03PM 45 minutes Unconvincing from Sissoko, who lets a long ball bounce when he was last man but he just about holds off Dyer. Three added minutes, most of that down to the use of VAR. 1:01PM 43 minutes Sissoko leads the charge on a dangerous counter-attack that breaks down with a blocked Son shot. Should have waited for Lucas Moura to arrive who was sprinting unmarked down the right. 12:59PM 41 minutes Swansea finally try to put a press on, but Spurs keep the ball calmly in their own half. Difficult to see a way back for Swansea unless the visitors take their foot off the pedal in spectacular fashion. 12:57PM 39 minutes Another decent chance for Spurs. Eric Dier rises high from and Eriksen corner and thumps a header over the bar. Was under a little bit of pressure, but should have hit the target. 12:55PM CLOSE! What a save by Nordfeldt to deny Eriksen another stunner. The Dane let fly with his left foot from 25 yards but the Swansea keeper tipped the swerving shot onto the crossbar. Swansea just about still alive. 12:52PM 35 minutes Swansea's best spell of the game. Nathan Dyer gets in a foot-race with Vertonghen and gets there first. Lays it off for Ki, but his cross in is poor and Spurs can clear their lines. A little bit of encouragement. 12:51PM 32 minutes Erik Lamela might be silky in possession, but is very fond of a cynical foul too. Swansea win a free-kick to release the pressure momentarily. 12:48PM 30 minutes Swansea fans are starting to get tetchy, urging their team to push higher up the pitch and take the initiative. Lovely vision from Eriksen once again to find Lamela in space down the left, and he whips a wicked ball across the six-yard box that just evades Lucas Moura. 12:45PM Not much in that 12:44PM 26 minutes That was a marginal call, and we have to ask if it's worth interrupting the pattern of a football match for the a ske of a few percent accuracy. Eriksen has been the best player on the pitch by a country mile. 12:42PM 22 minutes Right, here we go. Eriksen lifted a chipped pass over the top for Son, who plucked it out of the sky and smashed a shot in off the crossbar, but the linesman raised his flag for offside. The referee has paused the re-start of play to use VAR. It was so tight, but the original decision stands. The whistle had already blown when Son took his shot, which would have been another layer of controversy. 12:38PM 20 minutes All very beige in the first 20 minutes bar that moment of Eriksen excellence. Fantastic recovery challenge by soon to be England international Alfie Mawson just as Lucas Moura was threatening to get to the bar-line. 12:36PM Eriksen's strike Credit: Getty Images 12:35PM 15 minutes Swansea are unable to keep the ball for more than two or three passes. Good defending by Bartley to cover a threatening dart from Son in behind, then Naughton clears his lines after promising play from Lamela. 12:32PM 14 minutes Swansea creaking. Lucas Moura waltzes into the penalty area unchallenged, but his shot from 10 yards or so is tame and straight at the goalkeeper. 12:30PM Swansea back off, but marvellous goal Swansea have been content to drop off at all times, but that opens up space between the lines. Eriksen picked the ball up in a central midfield position, ran at Swansea's defence and curled a left-footed shot into the top left corner from just outside the penalty area. 12:28PM GGGOOOOAAALLLL! 1-0 Spurs Sumptuous finish from Christian Eriksen gives Spurs the lead. 12:27PM 8 minutes It is 10 years since Spurs' last major trophy, and that was the League Cup. They haven't reached an FA Cup final since 1991 when they beat Nottingham Forest, a game remembered for Paul Gascoigne breaking his leg. Quiet start so far. 12:25PM 5 minutes Jan Vertonghen steps out with ball and plays a pass that dissects Swansea's defence but Son was rightly flagged for offside. Co-commentator Danny Mills isn't sure about Son playing as a centre forward. He says he prefers to see him deep, running past the striker. Come again? 12:22PM 4 minutes Spurs settle into a long period of controlled possession in the Swansea half, much of it flowing through Christian Eriksen. Swansea are well-used to this though, and let Arsenal and Liverpool dominate the ball in unlikely home league wins. 12:19PM 2 minutes Looks like a 5-4-1 for Swansea with Tammy Abraham up top. Plenty of empty seats around the ground which is a bit disappointing to see. Early danger for Spurs but Vorm does well to rush off his line and take the ball cleanly from the feet of Nathan Dyer. 12:17PM We're off Sun is out at the Liberty Stadium, and Spurs get us going. A reminder that VAR is in use. What a joy. 12:14PM Kick-off moments away Spurs have made hard work of the FA Cup thus far, needing replays to get past Newport and Rochdale, but Premier League opposition should sharpen minds. Players are on their way out. 12:11PM The teams the old-fashioned way Swansea XI: Nordfeldt, Naughton, Van der Hoorn, Bartley, Mawson, Olsson, Ki Sung-Yeung, Carroll , Clucas, Dyer, Abraham. Subs: Mulder, Roberts, Fernandez, Britton, Byers, Routledge, Narsingh. Tottenham XI: Vorm, Trippier, Sanchez, Vertonghen, Davies, Dier, Sissoko, Lamela, Eriksen, Lucas, Son. Subs: Lloris, Aurier, Alderweireld, Foyth, Dembele, Alli, Llorente. 11:56AM Sam Clucas interview Plucked from obscurity by Glenn Hoddle, Sam Clucas is now an indespensible part of Swansea's midfield. Read his interview with Oliver Brown here. 11:44AM Three at the back for Swansea Former Arsenal player Kyle Bartley captains Swansea today, and starts in the middle of a back three, a defensive system Carlos Carvalhal has turned before against top opposition. It's a big day for Tammy Abraham up front. His loan spell from Chelsea started promisingly, but struggles for form and fitness have stalled his progress. Chelsea's strikers are not pulling up any trees, so a few good performances in high profile matches such as these could earn him a shot at first-team football at Stamford Bridge next season. 11:26AM No recognised striker for Spurs Pochettino sticks with the formula that worked to perfection in last week's 4-1 win at Bournemouth - not picking an orthodox centre forward. All a bit demoralising for poor old Fernando Llorente, who has bided his time behind Harry Kane and must have thought Kane's injury offered him a run in the side. Erik Lamela, Lucas Moura and Son Heung-min will form a mobile and fluid forward line that offers plenty of counter-attacking threat. 11:17AM Swansea team and subs Let's do this! �� ⬇️ Today's team for #SWATOT ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/4qL4KyPRuS— Swansea City AFC (@SwansOfficial) March 17, 2018 11:17AM Spurs team and subs - Fernando Llorente starts on the bench against his old club #THFC: Vorm, Trippier, Sanchez, Vertonghen (C), Davies, Dier, Sissoko, Lamela, Eriksen, Lucas, Son. #COYSpic.twitter.com/gek6hB0wb7— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) March 17, 2018 11:14AM How badly do Spurs need silverware? FA Cup quarter-final day is not quite what it once was, but the competition is Tottenham's last chance to end a 10-year wait for major silverware. They travel to freezing cold Swansea, resurgent under charismatic manager Carlos Caralhal, but not for the first time Maurcio Pochettino has downplayed winning the cup as a mark of progress. Pochettino said: "The Premier League or La Liga or the Bundesliga or the Calcio (Serie A), not only you need luck - you need to deserve to win this type of title. "Then there are short competitions, like in the World Cup. When Argentina arrived in Japan (2002 World Cup), I think we were first in the FIFA classifications but we didn't arrive in the best form and were out in the group stage. You need luck. "To win the Premier League is different. I don't know if who wins the titles like FA Cup or League Cup is the best team. "The Premier League is the true test because you need the whole squad to be involved then the competition is 38 games, 10 months. "League Cup, Copa del Rey, FA Cup… they are very short periods and sometimes it is a coincidence, maybe you have some players not in good form, you compete and you are out. "It's completely different. There are competitions that if you win, fantastic. But if you don't win, nothing changes. "When you win a real tournament, when you play under pressure and perform at your best over 10 months, in that moment is when you start to learn about winning. "What it means to be winners, what it means to be professional. That is one step when you start to understand in your head." Defender Toby Alderweireld may return to Tottenham's team after resuming training following a leg injury. Striker Harry Kane remains sidelined with a damaged ankle and is unlikely to return to training until next month but is expected to be fit for the World Cup. Teams to follow shortly.

According to the Mauricio Pochettino world view, it is the “process” that matters most, rather than a single moment of triumph. The journey, his thinking goes, is more than important than the final destination. By that logic, we can safely deduce that Pochettino will have enjoyed his side’s performance here, against a thoroughly outclassed Swansea City, just as much as the comprehensive scoreline. This was an afternoon, and a Tottenham showing, that could be savoured in its purest sense, rather than because of what it means in their search for a trophy, or what it shows they can do without the injured Harry Kane. This is not to belittle the importance of reaching a second consecutive FA Cup semi-final, or the significance of attacking so fluidly without their top scorer. It is more to marvel at the quality they showed in these 90 minutes, the ease with which they savaged their opponents and, above all, the brilliance of Christian Eriksen. One of only four players to keep his place in the side from last week’s thrashing of Bournemouth, Eriksen was at his surgical best against a Swansea side that was ripe for slicing. A master of angles and movement, he drifted and schemed, passed and moved, slowed it down and sped it up. He also scored, twice, from outside the penalty area. Joining him on the scoresheet was Erik Lamela, another who was able to float around south Wales at will, while there were similarly impressive performances in attack from the likes of Lucas Moura and Son Heung-Min. Even Moussa Sissoko, playing in the centre of midfield, did not look out of place. The only sour note for the visitors was another unwelcome intervention from the dreaded video assistant referee, which Pochettino branded a “nightmare” after Son was denied a goal by a contentious offside decision. “We are going to have a massive problem for the future,” Pochettino said, a day after Fifa confirmed the system will be used at this summer’s World Cup. How Dele Alli went from borrowed boots to the best 21 year-old in the world As for Swansea’s future, attentions will now be fully diverted towards their fight to avoid relegation. A first FA Cup quarter final since 1964 promised much but delivered little, and more than a few chunks of the home support did not return to their seats after half-time. “I am not disappointed,” said Carlos Carvalhal, their manager. “A storm came today, but good weather will follow for us.” With three central defenders and just two central midfielders, Carvalhal’s side had problems from the start against Tottenham’s posse of attacking playmakers. Eriksen, Lamela and Moura had too much time and too much space, while Son, playing as the lone striker in Kane’s absence, was all too willing to drop in and join in with the fun. It left Swansea outnumbered in the area of the pitch where Eriksen does the most damage, and it was no surprise to see the great Dane ambling through the home side’s midfield after little more than 10 minutes. Swansea retreated, Eriksen kept going, Swansea backed off some more and Eriksen smashed the ball into the top corner. It was hardly the most complex attacking move, but it was a wonderful finish, both powerful and precise, from Eriksen’s left boot. “He is fantastic,” said Pochettino. “He is so important for us. Every season he takes one step up.” Christian Eriksen celebrates scoring his side's third goal of the game with his teammates, Credit: PA The Tottenham dominance continued unabated after the goal, with Lamela having particular joy alongside Eriksen. Lucas nearly added a second after a delicate turn inside the penalty box, while Son threatened with his darting bursts in behind. Son then looked to be in on goal after a chipped pass by Eriksen, but the South Korean was flagged offside just as he prodded the ball into the back of the net. It was a close decision, and close enough for the referee, Kevin Friend, to consult with the dreaded VAR. Once again, the decision took an age, with the baffled home crowd eventually erupting in boos as Friend stood motionless, his finger pressed firmly to his ear, in the freezing Welsh wind. “I feel sorry for the people trying to use that system,” Pochettino said. “I prefer it when the referee and the assistant make mistakes than to wait three or four minutes for things.” The replays finally confirmed that the decision was marginal, and the original decision stood. But there was a second problem, and one that has yet to fully rear its head this season, in that Friend had blown his whistle for offside before Son had stuck the ball in the net. There was more VAR controversy when Son's goal was ruled out If the VAR had conclusively shown that Son was onside, what then? The goal, surely, could not have stood, because Kristoffer Nordfeldt, the Swansea goalkeeper, had stopped playing once the whistle had been blown. Yet more questions, then, and more reason to be nervous about the use of this technology at the World Cup. Asked about the decision, Carvalhal chose to keep his hands out of the fire. “When you lose 3-0,” he said. “It is better to just shut up and go home.” Fortunately for all involved, the incident was swiftly reduced to little more than a sideshow. Eriksen continued to probe, striking the bar with another fierce left-footed shot, before Eric Dier headed over from close range. The second was always coming, though, and it was Lamela who scored it with a cool finish from the edge of the box after rolling the ball artfully beneath his studs. Swansea did push on after the break, with Tammy Abraham forcing a diving save from Tottenham’s Michel Vorm, but it was always going to take something drastic to halt the tide. Lucas, who was causing no end trouble on the left wing, soon teed up Eriksen to blast home his second and Tottenham’s third. From there, the visitors could have had their pick of how many they wanted to score. Gradually, though, they settled into a walk, content with another job well done, and another step forward in Pochettino’s much-loved journey. 2:10PM Full-time That was like shelling peas for Spurs today. They are on their way to Wembley, again, and into the FA Cup semi-final. Despite Pochettino's attempts to play it cool, they have a fantastic chance to win some silverware. 2:06PM 89 minutes Tammy Abraham is down, hit the turf with nobody around him which is always a worrying sign. The Swansea striker is holding his thigh by the looks of things. 2:06PM 87 minutes Everyone is counting time waiting for the full-time whistle. Christian Eriksen is the man of the match, one of the easiest decisions all season. 2:03PM 85 minutes Eriksen whipped the free-kick towards the near post and the goalkeeper fumbles. Llorente tries to score on the rebound but his shot is blocked. Pinball in the Swansea area but they clear. 2:01PM 83 minutes Son still hard at it down the left hand side, but Bartley clears his cross for a corner. Spurs work a short one and Ki cynically brings down Ben Davies. Spurs free-kick. 1:58PM 80 minutes Dele Alli coming on for the last 10 minutes. You'd think Pochettino would rest him completely, but it seems to be a trend nowadays to keep players warm and ticking over to avoid injuries. 1:56PM 79 minutes Very nearly four. Perfectly weighted through ball by Lamela between right-back and right centre back for Son, who plays a ball across the six-yard line. Was begging to be tucked away. 1:53PM 76 minutes Tom Carroll clumps a pass out for a goal kick with all the finesse of a rhino. Groans from the Swansea fans who are still in the ground. After a decent first 10 minutes in both halves, they have not really been in this game. 1:52PM 74 minutes Spurs fans, who do you fancy in the semis? It looks set up for a re-match against Chelsea. 1:48PM 70 minutes The Spurs fans are ole-ing as their team stroke the ball around under little pressure. Fernando Llorent is about to replace Lucas Moura. Llorente's only Premier League goal for Spurs came on this ground. 1:46PM 68 minutes Terrific cross whipped in by Kieran Trippier but Mawson does well to head clear. If this was a boxing match, Carlos Carvalhal would be reaching for the towel. Spurs are swarming all over them. 1:43PM 65 minutes Spurs could turn this into a rout, if they can muster the effort. Sissoko's final ball lets him down yet again with Swansea wide open on the counter-attack. 1:41PM Goalkeeper should do better Swansea get caught in possession trying to play out from the back and Lucas Moura receives the ball in the penalty area. Shows good composure to set it for Eriksen who is hovering just outside the area and his deflected shot goes through Nordfeldt. 1:39PM GGGOOOOAAALLL! 3-0 Spurs Eriksen again, this time with a deflected shot. 1:38PM 61 minutes Neat work from Spurs around the edge of Swansea's box as Eriksen's flicked header finds Son but Bartley blocks his shot. 'We're going to Wembley', sing the Spurs fans. 1:36PM 57 minutes Spurs steadying themselves and re-asserting their authority on this match. Eriksen works a short corner and whips a ball across the area but van der Hoorn clears for another corner. Lamela wins another to maintain the pressure, but Swansea survive. 1:32PM 55 minutes Comical defending from van der Hoorn. Isolated against Lucas Moura who twists him one way and then the other, the Swansea defender takes drastic action and dives head first at the ball. Won it cleanly, in fairness to him. 1:30PM 52 minutes Swansea are at least enjoying some possession in the Spurs half, and produced another dangerous moment. Fantastic defence header from Sanchez only a few yards from goal under pressure from Abraham. 1:27PM 49 minutes That double chance has given the hosts some energy and life. Davinson Sanchez does not always inspire confidence in possession, and nervously shovels the ball back to Vorm. Another superb strike from distance, this time by Eric Dier. Norfeldt tips over his rasping shot from 30 yards over the bar. 1:25PM SAVE! That's more like it, and brilliant double save by former Swansea stopper Michel Vorm. Fierce strike from distance by Olsson is beaten away, then he is back up to save Abraham's re-bound. 1:23PM Any chance of a comeback? Surely Swansea have to roll the dice in the second half? We're back under way, and the home side have switched to a back four. 1:17PM Our man Sam Dean is at the Liberty Swansea had a major problem in midfield all half. Totally outnumbered in there, with three centre backs marking space while Lamela, Eriksen, Son and Lucas had some fun in front of them. Surely they'll change it up...— Sam Dean (@SamJDean) March 17, 2018 1:15PM Ledley not too impressed Anyone understand VAR yet??? Perfect run/pass/goal chalked off after being reviewed ��— Ledley King (@LedleyKing) March 17, 2018 1:13PM No Kane, no problem Swansea have been far too passive, but there's a lovely balance to this Spurs attack. Even with Harry Kane in the team, they sometimes lack a little bit of pace but Lucas Moura and Heung-min Son are providing speed and directness. Combined with Erik Lamela and Chrisitian Eriksen pulling the strings, it is giving Swansea a dilemma. Push up and Lucas or Son could be in with the right pass, drop deep and Eriksen gets time and space. 1:06PM Half-time That's that for the first 45 minutes. Not much of a contest so far. 1:05PM GGGGOOOOAAALLL! 2-0 Spurs Another fine Spurs goal, and once again a player scores with his weaker foot. Lamela picks the ball up in front of the Swansea defence, they back away and invite him to shoot from just outside the area. His right-footed shot wrong-foots the goal keeper and nestles in the bottom corner. Tie-over, surely? 1:03PM 45 minutes Unconvincing from Sissoko, who lets a long ball bounce when he was last man but he just about holds off Dyer. Three added minutes, most of that down to the use of VAR. 1:01PM 43 minutes Sissoko leads the charge on a dangerous counter-attack that breaks down with a blocked Son shot. Should have waited for Lucas Moura to arrive who was sprinting unmarked down the right. 12:59PM 41 minutes Swansea finally try to put a press on, but Spurs keep the ball calmly in their own half. Difficult to see a way back for Swansea unless the visitors take their foot off the pedal in spectacular fashion. 12:57PM 39 minutes Another decent chance for Spurs. Eric Dier rises high from and Eriksen corner and thumps a header over the bar. Was under a little bit of pressure, but should have hit the target. 12:55PM CLOSE! What a save by Nordfeldt to deny Eriksen another stunner. The Dane let fly with his left foot from 25 yards but the Swansea keeper tipped the swerving shot onto the crossbar. Swansea just about still alive. 12:52PM 35 minutes Swansea's best spell of the game. Nathan Dyer gets in a foot-race with Vertonghen and gets there first. Lays it off for Ki, but his cross in is poor and Spurs can clear their lines. A little bit of encouragement. 12:51PM 32 minutes Erik Lamela might be silky in possession, but is very fond of a cynical foul too. Swansea win a free-kick to release the pressure momentarily. 12:48PM 30 minutes Swansea fans are starting to get tetchy, urging their team to push higher up the pitch and take the initiative. Lovely vision from Eriksen once again to find Lamela in space down the left, and he whips a wicked ball across the six-yard box that just evades Lucas Moura. 12:45PM Not much in that 12:44PM 26 minutes That was a marginal call, and we have to ask if it's worth interrupting the pattern of a football match for the a ske of a few percent accuracy. Eriksen has been the best player on the pitch by a country mile. 12:42PM 22 minutes Right, here we go. Eriksen lifted a chipped pass over the top for Son, who plucked it out of the sky and smashed a shot in off the crossbar, but the linesman raised his flag for offside. The referee has paused the re-start of play to use VAR. It was so tight, but the original decision stands. The whistle had already blown when Son took his shot, which would have been another layer of controversy. 12:38PM 20 minutes All very beige in the first 20 minutes bar that moment of Eriksen excellence. Fantastic recovery challenge by soon to be England international Alfie Mawson just as Lucas Moura was threatening to get to the bar-line. 12:36PM Eriksen's strike Credit: Getty Images 12:35PM 15 minutes Swansea are unable to keep the ball for more than two or three passes. Good defending by Bartley to cover a threatening dart from Son in behind, then Naughton clears his lines after promising play from Lamela. 12:32PM 14 minutes Swansea creaking. Lucas Moura waltzes into the penalty area unchallenged, but his shot from 10 yards or so is tame and straight at the goalkeeper. 12:30PM Swansea back off, but marvellous goal Swansea have been content to drop off at all times, but that opens up space between the lines. Eriksen picked the ball up in a central midfield position, ran at Swansea's defence and curled a left-footed shot into the top left corner from just outside the penalty area. 12:28PM GGGOOOOAAALLLL! 1-0 Spurs Sumptuous finish from Christian Eriksen gives Spurs the lead. 12:27PM 8 minutes It is 10 years since Spurs' last major trophy, and that was the League Cup. They haven't reached an FA Cup final since 1991 when they beat Nottingham Forest, a game remembered for Paul Gascoigne breaking his leg. Quiet start so far. 12:25PM 5 minutes Jan Vertonghen steps out with ball and plays a pass that dissects Swansea's defence but Son was rightly flagged for offside. Co-commentator Danny Mills isn't sure about Son playing as a centre forward. He says he prefers to see him deep, running past the striker. Come again? 12:22PM 4 minutes Spurs settle into a long period of controlled possession in the Swansea half, much of it flowing through Christian Eriksen. Swansea are well-used to this though, and let Arsenal and Liverpool dominate the ball in unlikely home league wins. 12:19PM 2 minutes Looks like a 5-4-1 for Swansea with Tammy Abraham up top. Plenty of empty seats around the ground which is a bit disappointing to see. Early danger for Spurs but Vorm does well to rush off his line and take the ball cleanly from the feet of Nathan Dyer. 12:17PM We're off Sun is out at the Liberty Stadium, and Spurs get us going. A reminder that VAR is in use. What a joy. 12:14PM Kick-off moments away Spurs have made hard work of the FA Cup thus far, needing replays to get past Newport and Rochdale, but Premier League opposition should sharpen minds. Players are on their way out. 12:11PM The teams the old-fashioned way Swansea XI: Nordfeldt, Naughton, Van der Hoorn, Bartley, Mawson, Olsson, Ki Sung-Yeung, Carroll , Clucas, Dyer, Abraham. Subs: Mulder, Roberts, Fernandez, Britton, Byers, Routledge, Narsingh. Tottenham XI: Vorm, Trippier, Sanchez, Vertonghen, Davies, Dier, Sissoko, Lamela, Eriksen, Lucas, Son. Subs: Lloris, Aurier, Alderweireld, Foyth, Dembele, Alli, Llorente. 11:56AM Sam Clucas interview Plucked from obscurity by Glenn Hoddle, Sam Clucas is now an indespensible part of Swansea's midfield. Read his interview with Oliver Brown here. 11:44AM Three at the back for Swansea Former Arsenal player Kyle Bartley captains Swansea today, and starts in the middle of a back three, a defensive system Carlos Carvalhal has turned before against top opposition. It's a big day for Tammy Abraham up front. His loan spell from Chelsea started promisingly, but struggles for form and fitness have stalled his progress. Chelsea's strikers are not pulling up any trees, so a few good performances in high profile matches such as these could earn him a shot at first-team football at Stamford Bridge next season. 11:26AM No recognised striker for Spurs Pochettino sticks with the formula that worked to perfection in last week's 4-1 win at Bournemouth - not picking an orthodox centre forward. All a bit demoralising for poor old Fernando Llorente, who has bided his time behind Harry Kane and must have thought Kane's injury offered him a run in the side. Erik Lamela, Lucas Moura and Son Heung-min will form a mobile and fluid forward line that offers plenty of counter-attacking threat. 11:17AM Swansea team and subs Let's do this! �� ⬇️ Today's team for #SWATOT ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/4qL4KyPRuS— Swansea City AFC (@SwansOfficial) March 17, 2018 11:17AM Spurs team and subs - Fernando Llorente starts on the bench against his old club #THFC: Vorm, Trippier, Sanchez, Vertonghen (C), Davies, Dier, Sissoko, Lamela, Eriksen, Lucas, Son. #COYSpic.twitter.com/gek6hB0wb7— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) March 17, 2018 11:14AM How badly do Spurs need silverware? FA Cup quarter-final day is not quite what it once was, but the competition is Tottenham's last chance to end a 10-year wait for major silverware. They travel to freezing cold Swansea, resurgent under charismatic manager Carlos Caralhal, but not for the first time Maurcio Pochettino has downplayed winning the cup as a mark of progress. Pochettino said: "The Premier League or La Liga or the Bundesliga or the Calcio (Serie A), not only you need luck - you need to deserve to win this type of title. "Then there are short competitions, like in the World Cup. When Argentina arrived in Japan (2002 World Cup), I think we were first in the FIFA classifications but we didn't arrive in the best form and were out in the group stage. You need luck. "To win the Premier League is different. I don't know if who wins the titles like FA Cup or League Cup is the best team. "The Premier League is the true test because you need the whole squad to be involved then the competition is 38 games, 10 months. "League Cup, Copa del Rey, FA Cup… they are very short periods and sometimes it is a coincidence, maybe you have some players not in good form, you compete and you are out. "It's completely different. There are competitions that if you win, fantastic. But if you don't win, nothing changes. "When you win a real tournament, when you play under pressure and perform at your best over 10 months, in that moment is when you start to learn about winning. "What it means to be winners, what it means to be professional. That is one step when you start to understand in your head." Defender Toby Alderweireld may return to Tottenham's team after resuming training following a leg injury. Striker Harry Kane remains sidelined with a damaged ankle and is unlikely to return to training until next month but is expected to be fit for the World Cup. Teams to follow shortly.

According to the Mauricio Pochettino world view, it is the “process” that matters most, rather than a single moment of triumph. The journey, his thinking goes, is more than important than the final destination. By that logic, we can safely deduce that Pochettino will have enjoyed his side’s performance here, against a thoroughly outclassed Swansea City, just as much as the comprehensive scoreline. This was an afternoon, and a Tottenham showing, that could be savoured in its purest sense, rather than because of what it means in their search for a trophy, or what it shows they can do without the injured Harry Kane. This is not to belittle the importance of reaching a second consecutive FA Cup semi-final, or the significance of attacking so fluidly without their top scorer. It is more to marvel at the quality they showed in these 90 minutes, the ease with which they savaged their opponents and, above all, the brilliance of Christian Eriksen. One of only four players to keep his place in the side from last week’s thrashing of Bournemouth, Eriksen was at his surgical best against a Swansea side that was ripe for slicing. A master of angles and movement, he drifted and schemed, passed and moved, slowed it down and sped it up. He also scored, twice, from outside the penalty area. Joining him on the scoresheet was Erik Lamela, another who was able to float around south Wales at will, while there were similarly impressive performances in attack from the likes of Lucas Moura and Son Heung-Min. Even Moussa Sissoko, playing in the centre of midfield, did not look out of place. The only sour note for the visitors was another unwelcome intervention from the dreaded video assistant referee, which Pochettino branded a “nightmare” after Son was denied a goal by a contentious offside decision. “We are going to have a massive problem for the future,” Pochettino said, a day after Fifa confirmed the system will be used at this summer’s World Cup. How Dele Alli went from borrowed boots to the best 21 year-old in the world As for Swansea’s future, attentions will now be fully diverted towards their fight to avoid relegation. A first FA Cup quarter final since 1964 promised much but delivered little, and more than a few chunks of the home support did not return to their seats after half-time. “I am not disappointed,” said Carlos Carvalhal, their manager. “A storm came today, but good weather will follow for us.” With three central defenders and just two central midfielders, Carvalhal’s side had problems from the start against Tottenham’s posse of attacking playmakers. Eriksen, Lamela and Moura had too much time and too much space, while Son, playing as the lone striker in Kane’s absence, was all too willing to drop in and join in with the fun. It left Swansea outnumbered in the area of the pitch where Eriksen does the most damage, and it was no surprise to see the great Dane ambling through the home side’s midfield after little more than 10 minutes. Swansea retreated, Eriksen kept going, Swansea backed off some more and Eriksen smashed the ball into the top corner. It was hardly the most complex attacking move, but it was a wonderful finish, both powerful and precise, from Eriksen’s left boot. “He is fantastic,” said Pochettino. “He is so important for us. Every season he takes one step up.” Christian Eriksen celebrates scoring his side's third goal of the game with his teammates, Credit: PA The Tottenham dominance continued unabated after the goal, with Lamela having particular joy alongside Eriksen. Lucas nearly added a second after a delicate turn inside the penalty box, while Son threatened with his darting bursts in behind. Son then looked to be in on goal after a chipped pass by Eriksen, but the South Korean was flagged offside just as he prodded the ball into the back of the net. It was a close decision, and close enough for the referee, Kevin Friend, to consult with the dreaded VAR. Once again, the decision took an age, with the baffled home crowd eventually erupting in boos as Friend stood motionless, his finger pressed firmly to his ear, in the freezing Welsh wind. “I feel sorry for the people trying to use that system,” Pochettino said. “I prefer it when the referee and the assistant make mistakes than to wait three or four minutes for things.” The replays finally confirmed that the decision was marginal, and the original decision stood. But there was a second problem, and one that has yet to fully rear its head this season, in that Friend had blown his whistle for offside before Son had stuck the ball in the net. There was more VAR controversy when Son's goal was ruled out If the VAR had conclusively shown that Son was onside, what then? The goal, surely, could not have stood, because Kristoffer Nordfeldt, the Swansea goalkeeper, had stopped playing once the whistle had been blown. Yet more questions, then, and more reason to be nervous about the use of this technology at the World Cup. Asked about the decision, Carvalhal chose to keep his hands out of the fire. “When you lose 3-0,” he said. “It is better to just shut up and go home.” Fortunately for all involved, the incident was swiftly reduced to little more than a sideshow. Eriksen continued to probe, striking the bar with another fierce left-footed shot, before Eric Dier headed over from close range. The second was always coming, though, and it was Lamela who scored it with a cool finish from the edge of the box after rolling the ball artfully beneath his studs. Swansea did push on after the break, with Tammy Abraham forcing a diving save from Tottenham’s Michel Vorm, but it was always going to take something drastic to halt the tide. Lucas, who was causing no end trouble on the left wing, soon teed up Eriksen to blast home his second and Tottenham’s third. From there, the visitors could have had their pick of how many they wanted to score. Gradually, though, they settled into a walk, content with another job well done, and another step forward in Pochettino’s much-loved journey. 2:10PM Full-time That was like shelling peas for Spurs today. They are on their way to Wembley, again, and into the FA Cup semi-final. Despite Pochettino's attempts to play it cool, they have a fantastic chance to win some silverware. 2:06PM 89 minutes Tammy Abraham is down, hit the turf with nobody around him which is always a worrying sign. The Swansea striker is holding his thigh by the looks of things. 2:06PM 87 minutes Everyone is counting time waiting for the full-time whistle. Christian Eriksen is the man of the match, one of the easiest decisions all season. 2:03PM 85 minutes Eriksen whipped the free-kick towards the near post and the goalkeeper fumbles. Llorente tries to score on the rebound but his shot is blocked. Pinball in the Swansea area but they clear. 2:01PM 83 minutes Son still hard at it down the left hand side, but Bartley clears his cross for a corner. Spurs work a short one and Ki cynically brings down Ben Davies. Spurs free-kick. 1:58PM 80 minutes Dele Alli coming on for the last 10 minutes. You'd think Pochettino would rest him completely, but it seems to be a trend nowadays to keep players warm and ticking over to avoid injuries. 1:56PM 79 minutes Very nearly four. Perfectly weighted through ball by Lamela between right-back and right centre back for Son, who plays a ball across the six-yard line. Was begging to be tucked away. 1:53PM 76 minutes Tom Carroll clumps a pass out for a goal kick with all the finesse of a rhino. Groans from the Swansea fans who are still in the ground. After a decent first 10 minutes in both halves, they have not really been in this game. 1:52PM 74 minutes Spurs fans, who do you fancy in the semis? It looks set up for a re-match against Chelsea. 1:48PM 70 minutes The Spurs fans are ole-ing as their team stroke the ball around under little pressure. Fernando Llorent is about to replace Lucas Moura. Llorente's only Premier League goal for Spurs came on this ground. 1:46PM 68 minutes Terrific cross whipped in by Kieran Trippier but Mawson does well to head clear. If this was a boxing match, Carlos Carvalhal would be reaching for the towel. Spurs are swarming all over them. 1:43PM 65 minutes Spurs could turn this into a rout, if they can muster the effort. Sissoko's final ball lets him down yet again with Swansea wide open on the counter-attack. 1:41PM Goalkeeper should do better Swansea get caught in possession trying to play out from the back and Lucas Moura receives the ball in the penalty area. Shows good composure to set it for Eriksen who is hovering just outside the area and his deflected shot goes through Nordfeldt. 1:39PM GGGOOOOAAALLL! 3-0 Spurs Eriksen again, this time with a deflected shot. 1:38PM 61 minutes Neat work from Spurs around the edge of Swansea's box as Eriksen's flicked header finds Son but Bartley blocks his shot. 'We're going to Wembley', sing the Spurs fans. 1:36PM 57 minutes Spurs steadying themselves and re-asserting their authority on this match. Eriksen works a short corner and whips a ball across the area but van der Hoorn clears for another corner. Lamela wins another to maintain the pressure, but Swansea survive. 1:32PM 55 minutes Comical defending from van der Hoorn. Isolated against Lucas Moura who twists him one way and then the other, the Swansea defender takes drastic action and dives head first at the ball. Won it cleanly, in fairness to him. 1:30PM 52 minutes Swansea are at least enjoying some possession in the Spurs half, and produced another dangerous moment. Fantastic defence header from Sanchez only a few yards from goal under pressure from Abraham. 1:27PM 49 minutes That double chance has given the hosts some energy and life. Davinson Sanchez does not always inspire confidence in possession, and nervously shovels the ball back to Vorm. Another superb strike from distance, this time by Eric Dier. Norfeldt tips over his rasping shot from 30 yards over the bar. 1:25PM SAVE! That's more like it, and brilliant double save by former Swansea stopper Michel Vorm. Fierce strike from distance by Olsson is beaten away, then he is back up to save Abraham's re-bound. 1:23PM Any chance of a comeback? Surely Swansea have to roll the dice in the second half? We're back under way, and the home side have switched to a back four. 1:17PM Our man Sam Dean is at the Liberty Swansea had a major problem in midfield all half. Totally outnumbered in there, with three centre backs marking space while Lamela, Eriksen, Son and Lucas had some fun in front of them. Surely they'll change it up...— Sam Dean (@SamJDean) March 17, 2018 1:15PM Ledley not too impressed Anyone understand VAR yet??? Perfect run/pass/goal chalked off after being reviewed ��— Ledley King (@LedleyKing) March 17, 2018 1:13PM No Kane, no problem Swansea have been far too passive, but there's a lovely balance to this Spurs attack. Even with Harry Kane in the team, they sometimes lack a little bit of pace but Lucas Moura and Heung-min Son are providing speed and directness. Combined with Erik Lamela and Chrisitian Eriksen pulling the strings, it is giving Swansea a dilemma. Push up and Lucas or Son could be in with the right pass, drop deep and Eriksen gets time and space. 1:06PM Half-time That's that for the first 45 minutes. Not much of a contest so far. 1:05PM GGGGOOOOAAALLL! 2-0 Spurs Another fine Spurs goal, and once again a player scores with his weaker foot. Lamela picks the ball up in front of the Swansea defence, they back away and invite him to shoot from just outside the area. His right-footed shot wrong-foots the goal keeper and nestles in the bottom corner. Tie-over, surely? 1:03PM 45 minutes Unconvincing from Sissoko, who lets a long ball bounce when he was last man but he just about holds off Dyer. Three added minutes, most of that down to the use of VAR. 1:01PM 43 minutes Sissoko leads the charge on a dangerous counter-attack that breaks down with a blocked Son shot. Should have waited for Lucas Moura to arrive who was sprinting unmarked down the right. 12:59PM 41 minutes Swansea finally try to put a press on, but Spurs keep the ball calmly in their own half. Difficult to see a way back for Swansea unless the visitors take their foot off the pedal in spectacular fashion. 12:57PM 39 minutes Another decent chance for Spurs. Eric Dier rises high from and Eriksen corner and thumps a header over the bar. Was under a little bit of pressure, but should have hit the target. 12:55PM CLOSE! What a save by Nordfeldt to deny Eriksen another stunner. The Dane let fly with his left foot from 25 yards but the Swansea keeper tipped the swerving shot onto the crossbar. Swansea just about still alive. 12:52PM 35 minutes Swansea's best spell of the game. Nathan Dyer gets in a foot-race with Vertonghen and gets there first. Lays it off for Ki, but his cross in is poor and Spurs can clear their lines. A little bit of encouragement. 12:51PM 32 minutes Erik Lamela might be silky in possession, but is very fond of a cynical foul too. Swansea win a free-kick to release the pressure momentarily. 12:48PM 30 minutes Swansea fans are starting to get tetchy, urging their team to push higher up the pitch and take the initiative. Lovely vision from Eriksen once again to find Lamela in space down the left, and he whips a wicked ball across the six-yard box that just evades Lucas Moura. 12:45PM Not much in that 12:44PM 26 minutes That was a marginal call, and we have to ask if it's worth interrupting the pattern of a football match for the a ske of a few percent accuracy. Eriksen has been the best player on the pitch by a country mile. 12:42PM 22 minutes Right, here we go. Eriksen lifted a chipped pass over the top for Son, who plucked it out of the sky and smashed a shot in off the crossbar, but the linesman raised his flag for offside. The referee has paused the re-start of play to use VAR. It was so tight, but the original decision stands. The whistle had already blown when Son took his shot, which would have been another layer of controversy. 12:38PM 20 minutes All very beige in the first 20 minutes bar that moment of Eriksen excellence. Fantastic recovery challenge by soon to be England international Alfie Mawson just as Lucas Moura was threatening to get to the bar-line. 12:36PM Eriksen's strike Credit: Getty Images 12:35PM 15 minutes Swansea are unable to keep the ball for more than two or three passes. Good defending by Bartley to cover a threatening dart from Son in behind, then Naughton clears his lines after promising play from Lamela. 12:32PM 14 minutes Swansea creaking. Lucas Moura waltzes into the penalty area unchallenged, but his shot from 10 yards or so is tame and straight at the goalkeeper. 12:30PM Swansea back off, but marvellous goal Swansea have been content to drop off at all times, but that opens up space between the lines. Eriksen picked the ball up in a central midfield position, ran at Swansea's defence and curled a left-footed shot into the top left corner from just outside the penalty area. 12:28PM GGGOOOOAAALLLL! 1-0 Spurs Sumptuous finish from Christian Eriksen gives Spurs the lead. 12:27PM 8 minutes It is 10 years since Spurs' last major trophy, and that was the League Cup. They haven't reached an FA Cup final since 1991 when they beat Nottingham Forest, a game remembered for Paul Gascoigne breaking his leg. Quiet start so far. 12:25PM 5 minutes Jan Vertonghen steps out with ball and plays a pass that dissects Swansea's defence but Son was rightly flagged for offside. Co-commentator Danny Mills isn't sure about Son playing as a centre forward. He says he prefers to see him deep, running past the striker. Come again? 12:22PM 4 minutes Spurs settle into a long period of controlled possession in the Swansea half, much of it flowing through Christian Eriksen. Swansea are well-used to this though, and let Arsenal and Liverpool dominate the ball in unlikely home league wins. 12:19PM 2 minutes Looks like a 5-4-1 for Swansea with Tammy Abraham up top. Plenty of empty seats around the ground which is a bit disappointing to see. Early danger for Spurs but Vorm does well to rush off his line and take the ball cleanly from the feet of Nathan Dyer. 12:17PM We're off Sun is out at the Liberty Stadium, and Spurs get us going. A reminder that VAR is in use. What a joy. 12:14PM Kick-off moments away Spurs have made hard work of the FA Cup thus far, needing replays to get past Newport and Rochdale, but Premier League opposition should sharpen minds. Players are on their way out. 12:11PM The teams the old-fashioned way Swansea XI: Nordfeldt, Naughton, Van der Hoorn, Bartley, Mawson, Olsson, Ki Sung-Yeung, Carroll , Clucas, Dyer, Abraham. Subs: Mulder, Roberts, Fernandez, Britton, Byers, Routledge, Narsingh. Tottenham XI: Vorm, Trippier, Sanchez, Vertonghen, Davies, Dier, Sissoko, Lamela, Eriksen, Lucas, Son. Subs: Lloris, Aurier, Alderweireld, Foyth, Dembele, Alli, Llorente. 11:56AM Sam Clucas interview Plucked from obscurity by Glenn Hoddle, Sam Clucas is now an indespensible part of Swansea's midfield. Read his interview with Oliver Brown here. 11:44AM Three at the back for Swansea Former Arsenal player Kyle Bartley captains Swansea today, and starts in the middle of a back three, a defensive system Carlos Carvalhal has turned before against top opposition. It's a big day for Tammy Abraham up front. His loan spell from Chelsea started promisingly, but struggles for form and fitness have stalled his progress. Chelsea's strikers are not pulling up any trees, so a few good performances in high profile matches such as these could earn him a shot at first-team football at Stamford Bridge next season. 11:26AM No recognised striker for Spurs Pochettino sticks with the formula that worked to perfection in last week's 4-1 win at Bournemouth - not picking an orthodox centre forward. All a bit demoralising for poor old Fernando Llorente, who has bided his time behind Harry Kane and must have thought Kane's injury offered him a run in the side. Erik Lamela, Lucas Moura and Son Heung-min will form a mobile and fluid forward line that offers plenty of counter-attacking threat. 11:17AM Swansea team and subs Let's do this! �� ⬇️ Today's team for #SWATOT ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/4qL4KyPRuS— Swansea City AFC (@SwansOfficial) March 17, 2018 11:17AM Spurs team and subs - Fernando Llorente starts on the bench against his old club #THFC: Vorm, Trippier, Sanchez, Vertonghen (C), Davies, Dier, Sissoko, Lamela, Eriksen, Lucas, Son. #COYSpic.twitter.com/gek6hB0wb7— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) March 17, 2018 11:14AM How badly do Spurs need silverware? FA Cup quarter-final day is not quite what it once was, but the competition is Tottenham's last chance to end a 10-year wait for major silverware. They travel to freezing cold Swansea, resurgent under charismatic manager Carlos Caralhal, but not for the first time Maurcio Pochettino has downplayed winning the cup as a mark of progress. Pochettino said: "The Premier League or La Liga or the Bundesliga or the Calcio (Serie A), not only you need luck - you need to deserve to win this type of title. "Then there are short competitions, like in the World Cup. When Argentina arrived in Japan (2002 World Cup), I think we were first in the FIFA classifications but we didn't arrive in the best form and were out in the group stage. You need luck. "To win the Premier League is different. I don't know if who wins the titles like FA Cup or League Cup is the best team. "The Premier League is the true test because you need the whole squad to be involved then the competition is 38 games, 10 months. "League Cup, Copa del Rey, FA Cup… they are very short periods and sometimes it is a coincidence, maybe you have some players not in good form, you compete and you are out. "It's completely different. There are competitions that if you win, fantastic. But if you don't win, nothing changes. "When you win a real tournament, when you play under pressure and perform at your best over 10 months, in that moment is when you start to learn about winning. "What it means to be winners, what it means to be professional. That is one step when you start to understand in your head." Defender Toby Alderweireld may return to Tottenham's team after resuming training following a leg injury. Striker Harry Kane remains sidelined with a damaged ankle and is unlikely to return to training until next month but is expected to be fit for the World Cup. Teams to follow shortly.

Swansea vs Tottenham, FA Cup quarter-final: live score updates

How Dele Alli went from borrowed boots to the best 21 year-old in the world 12:32PM 14 minutes Swansea creaking. Lucas Moura waltzes into the penalty area unchallenged, but his shot from 10 yards or so is tame and straight at the goalkeeper. 12:30PM Swansea back off, but marvellous goal Swansea have been content to drop off at all times, but that opens up space between the lines. Eriksen picked the ball up in a central midfield position, ran at Swansea's defence and curled a left-footed shot into the top left corner from just outside the penalty area. 12:28PM GGGOOOOAAALLLL! 1-0 Spurs Sumptuous finish from Christian Eriksen gives Spurs the lead. 12:27PM 8 minutes It is 10 years since Spurs' last major trophy, and that was the League Cup. They haven't reached an FA Cup final since 1991 when they beat Nottingham Forest, a game remembered for Paul Gascoigne breaking his leg. Quiet start so far. 12:25PM 5 minutes Jan Vertonghen steps out with ball and plays a pass that dissects Swansea's defence but Son was rightly flagged for offside. Co-commentator Danny Mills isn't sure about Son playing as a centre forward. He says he prefers to see him deep, running past the striker. Come again? 12:22PM 4 minutes Spurs settle into a long period of controlled possession in the Swansea half, much of it flowing through Christian Eriksen. Swansea are well-used to this though, and let Arsenal and Liverpool dominate the ball in unlikely home league wins. 12:19PM 2 minutes Looks like a 5-4-1 for Swansea with Tammy Abraham up top. Plenty of empty seats around the ground which is a bit disappointing to see. Early danger for Spurs but Vorm does well to rush off his line and take the ball cleanly from the feet of Nathan Dyer. 12:17PM We're off Sun is out at the Liberty Stadium, and Spurs get us going. A reminder that VAR is in use. What a joy. 12:14PM Kick-off moments away Spurs have made hard work of the FA Cup thus far, needing replays to get past Newport and Rochdale, but Premier League opposition should sharpen minds. Players are on their way out. 12:11PM The teams the old-fashioned way Swansea XI: Nordfeldt, Naughton, Van der Hoorn, Bartley, Mawson, Olsson, Ki Sung-Yeung, Carroll , Clucas, Dyer, Abraham. Subs: Mulder, Roberts, Fernandez, Britton, Byers, Routledge, Narsingh. Tottenham XI: Vorm, Trippier, Sanchez, Vertonghen, Davies, Dier, Sissoko, Lamela, Eriksen, Lucas, Son. Subs: Lloris, Aurier, Alderweireld, Foyth, Dembele, Alli, Llorente. 11:56AM Sam Clucas interview Plucked from obscurity by Glenn Hoddle, Sam Clucas is now an indespensible part of Swansea's midfield. Read his interview with Oliver Brown here. 11:44AM Three at the back for Swansea Former Arsenal player Kyle Bartley captains Swansea today, and starts in the middle of a back three, a defensive system Carlos Carvalhal has turned before against top opposition. It's a big day for Tammy Abraham up front. His loan spell from Chelsea started promisingly, but struggles for form and fitness have stalled his progress. Chelsea's strikers are not pulling up any trees, so a few good performances in high profile matches such as these could earn him a shot at first-team football at Stamford Bridge next season. 11:26AM No recognised striker for Spurs Pochettino sticks with the formula that worked to perfection in last week's 4-1 win at Bournemouth - not picking an orthodox centre forward. All a bit demoralising for poor old Fernando Llorente, who has bided his time behind Harry Kane and must have thought Kane's injury offered him a run in the side. Erik Lamela, Lucas Moura and Son Heung-min will form a mobile and fluid forward line that offers plenty of counter-attacking threat. 11:17AM Swansea team and subs Let's do this! �� ⬇️ Today's team for #SWATOT ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/4qL4KyPRuS— Swansea City AFC (@SwansOfficial) March 17, 2018 11:17AM Spurs team and subs - Fernando Llorente starts on the bench against his old club #THFC: Vorm, Trippier, Sanchez, Vertonghen (C), Davies, Dier, Sissoko, Lamela, Eriksen, Lucas, Son. #COYSpic.twitter.com/gek6hB0wb7— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) March 17, 2018 11:14AM How badly do Spurs need silverware? FA Cup quarter-final day is not quite what it once was, but the competition is Tottenham's last chance to end a 10-year wait for major silverware. They travel to freezing cold Swansea, resurgent under charismatic manager Carlos Caralhal, but not for the first time Maurcio Pochettino has downplayed winning the cup as a mark of progress. Pochettino said: "The Premier League or La Liga or the Bundesliga or the Calcio (Serie A), not only you need luck - you need to deserve to win this type of title. "Then there are short competitions, like in the World Cup. When Argentina arrived in Japan (2002 World Cup), I think we were first in the FIFA classifications but we didn't arrive in the best form and were out in the group stage. You need luck. "To win the Premier League is different. I don't know if who wins the titles like FA Cup or League Cup is the best team. "The Premier League is the true test because you need the whole squad to be involved then the competition is 38 games, 10 months. "League Cup, Copa del Rey, FA Cup… they are very short periods and sometimes it is a coincidence, maybe you have some players not in good form, you compete and you are out. "It's completely different. There are competitions that if you win, fantastic. But if you don't win, nothing changes. "When you win a real tournament, when you play under pressure and perform at your best over 10 months, in that moment is when you start to learn about winning. "What it means to be winners, what it means to be professional. That is one step when you start to understand in your head." Defender Toby Alderweireld may return to Tottenham's team after resuming training following a leg injury. Striker Harry Kane remains sidelined with a damaged ankle and is unlikely to return to training until next month but is expected to be fit for the World Cup. Teams to follow shortly.

Gary Rowett denies putting two fingers up to Nottingham Forest fans

Gary Rowett denies putting two fingers up to Nottingham Forest fans

Gary Rowett denies putting two fingers up to Nottingham Forest fans

Gary Rowett denies putting two fingers up to Nottingham Forest fans

Gary Rowett denies putting two fingers up to Nottingham Forest fans

Gary Rowett denies putting two fingers up to Nottingham Forest fans

Nottingham Forest 0 Derby County 0: Huddlestone sees red in stalemate

The East Midlands derby ended in a goalless draw between Nottingham Forest and Derby County for the first time since 2002.

It received the biggest cheer of the afternoon but did not come when any of Arsenal’s three goals were scored or even as the final whistle was blown and a run of three successive Premier League defeats had been arrested. Instead it came at the pivotal incident when Troy Deeney had to show the ‘cojones’, the mental strength he had said Arsenal lacked after the last meeting between these two sides in October when he came on as a substitute to turn the game around. Deeney scored from the penalty spot then and he was presented with the chance, immediately after Arsenal had gone into a 2-0 lead, to do so again here. There was more than 30 minutes still to play and Arsenal had been wobbling when Deeney had the golden opportunity to get his team back into it. But the striker’s kick was far too straight and Petr Cech diverted it away with an outstretched arm. It was the first time, at the 16th attempt, that Cech had saved a penalty in Arsenal colours and it also helped him – finally – to collect a 200th clean sheet in the Premier League. The 35-year-old therefore became the first goalkeeper to reach that mark having been stuck on 199 since mid-December. Asked whether Deeney’s comments had fired up his players, Arsene Wenger acknowledged it had been a factor. “You know you cannot be a footballer without pride,” he said. There has been a lot of wounded pride at Arsenal this season. “You cannot be in this sport without pride. All these things count always a little bit. For how much I don’t know. But of course it plays a part.” Shkodran Mustafi scores Arsenal's first goal Credit: REUTERS How the Arsenal fans also delighted in Deeney’s failure; or at least those who turned up. Anger has turned to apathy at the Emirates and there were thousands of empty seats as this game unfolded and that will be of concern to the club. Officially, there were 59,131 seats ‘sold’ but a lot were unoccupied. Many, many fans voted with their feet and this was not in anticipation of a defeat against Manchester City on a freezing cold night, as with their previous home game, but for a fixture against mid-table Watford on a Sunday lunchtime. “Your ground’s too big for you,” taunted the Watford supporters early on. For Wenger there was, nevertheless, obvious relief at this result even if it was also evident that he is now prioritising the Europa League as he made six changes from the side that gained a 2-0 lead away to AC Milan in the first leg of Arsenal’s last-16 tie. They face the same opponents at the Emirates on Thursday and Wenger knows that with the chance of finishing in the top four gone his only hope of Champions League qualification, and maybe saving his job, is to win the Europa League. It is a gamble. And despite the emphatic scoreline so was this game; a game in which Cech was Arsenal’s man-of-the-match and, once more, they looked vulnerable each time their opponents attacked them which was made all the more alarming considering the early grip they had taken. In fact Arsenal could have scored even before they did in the eighth minute. Already Watford goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis had saved well from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, diverting his shot for a corner with his leg when the striker was slipped through by Mesut Ozil, before he was beaten. Ozil’s free-kick was met by Shkodran Mustafi who guided his header back across goal after inexplicably being left unmarked by Adrian Mariappa and Jose Holebas. It marked the 1,000 goal Arsenal had scored in the Premier League at home with only Manchester United having reached that mark quicker. But thousands missed the 3-0 win with fans staying away Credit: Getty Images At that point it felt like it would be a long afternoon for Watford but they soon began to rack up chances. Firstly Richarlison was put clear by Roberto Pereyra with a long ball but he checked, rather than shot, with the opportunity opening up for the onrushing Abdoulaye Doucoure whose low drive was smartly blocked by Cech. Then Watford should have levelled when Richarlison’s free-kick was pushed out by a scrambling Cech only for Pereyra to blast the rebound over when he surely had to score or pass to the unmarked Mariappa. Immediately Arsenal countered and appeared set to double their advantage with Ozil nudging the ball past Mariappa to put himself through on goal only for Karnezis to save his side-footed shot with his legs. On half-time a cross by Kiko Femenia was met by Richarlison and his near post header was pushed away by Cech. Arsenal were sloppy, careless and Watford will have felt they did not deserve to be behind. But, instead, they conceded again when Henrikh Mkhitaryan ran through the middle and slipped a pass to Aubameyang. Karnezis rushed out but stopped, realising he was not going to get there with Aubameyang rounding him before clipping the ball into the empty net. Cech saves Deeney's penalty Credit: Getty Images Europe Soon after, Watford were awarded their penalty as Pereyra dribbled into the area and was caught by Ainsley Maitland-Niles' outstretched trailing leg. Deeney missed and Watford soon lost heart as Ozil ran free down the left and crossed low. The ball was pushed out by Karnezis but only to Aubameyang who turned and passed to Mkhitaryan. The Armenian side-footed home to end any lingering doubt. “Deeney, Deeney, what’s the score?” taunted the Arsenal fans while Hector Bellerin – who had conceded the penalty when Arsenal lost to Watford last autumn – trolled Deeney by tweeting: “Looks like you couldn’t see today either.” Deeney will take that on the chin. And hopefully it will not prove to be false bravado for the rest of Arsenal's campaign. 3:23PM Full time: Arsenal 3 Watford 0 Not flawless from Arsenal, but they'll absolutely take this. Probably the key moment was the penalty save at 2-0. Had Troy Deeney put that away, it would have been 2-1, and with this fragile Arsenal side, you never know. But as it turned out, a handy win for Arsenal. Ten out of ten home wins for teams below them for Arsenal this season. Thanks for following it with us. I myself am dashing to blog Bournemouth v Tottenham, the Redknapp derby, and so I will bid you good day. Match report will be up directly. 3:18PM 90 mins From a freekick, the ball drops kindly for a Watford player but, unkindly, the player to whom it drops is Prodl. Row ZZ. 3:17PM 87 mins Xhaka yells at Referee Atkinson, who books him for being a total pranny dissent. Xhaka still goes back for more. 3:14PM 85 mins Arsenal looking classy now, they're opening up Watford at will. Wilshere slips it to Welbeck, he cracks the ball at goal. Parried out. Watford have had enough, I'd say. 3:11PM Some front Troy Deeney set to break the Premier Leaue record for fronting up - currently held jointly by John Terry and Joe Hart - after this game— Adam Hurrey (@FootballCliches) March 11, 2018 3:10PM 80 mins Miguel Britos replaces Daryl Janmaat and that'll be the final change for either side. 3:07PM 78 mins Mkhitaryan taken off immediately. Jack Wilshere the man who comes on. Sore one for Xhaka as Deeney stands on the back of his calf. 3:06PM GOAL! Mkhitaryan! Arsenal 3 Watford 0 Ozil down the left, he plays the ball to Aubameyang. He shows good composure and vision to find his former Dortmund colleague a few yards further inside. Mkhitaryan hits it. Goalie should have done A LOT better there. Goal. These two love playing together - @Aubameyang7 lays it off this time and @HenrikhMkh fires home#AFCvWFC 3-0 (77) pic.twitter.com/bKurN2B84i— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) March 11, 2018 3:01PM 72 mins Richarlison does well to get to the byline, Mustafi gets it clear. His reward for that piece of defending is to be subbed off for a nice sit down. Chambers is the man to replace him. 2:58PM 70 mins Watford look like they have run their race. 2:57PM 67 mins Pereyra off for Okaka. Dat Guy Welbz is on for Iwobbly. 2:56PM What a balloon Simone Zaza trying to headbutt someone’s arm to get a free kick is the funniest thing I’ve seen today. pic.twitter.com/nBwUKeOLrV— Dan Critchlow (@afcDW) March 10, 2018 2:53PM 65 mins Now Holebas tacks a turn to clatter Mkhitaryan. Yeller. 2:52PM 63 mins Arsenal should have a penalty of their own. Mkhitaryan into the box on the right and he gets his pass away a split second before Mariappa absolutely cleans him out. Mariappa is lucky that Mkhitaryan had already got rid of the ball because otherwise that was a pen all day. Femenía off for Hughes. 2:48PM 60 mins Just as I was going to say that Arsenal can relax a bit, Pereyra has been awarded a penalty as Maitland-Niles clumsily blocks him off. Troy Deeney steps up to take the penalty, he wallops it down the middle. Cech dives to his right but gets his hand up, he's blocked it, and the Arsenal fans, who have beef with TD, absolutely love it. Some of them even cheer. Deeney penalty saved 2:47PM GOAL! Arsenal 2 Watford 0 (Aubameyang) Mkhitaryan has not done a lot, but he's picked the ball up here and driven forward. Times his through ball perfectly, Aubameyang is onto it, round the keeper and slots it away. Against the run of play, but Arsenal won't care about that. 2:44PM 55 mins Oof. Watford with an excellent ball in, narrowly wide. Arsenal clinging on. 2:43PM 54 mins Mustafi has a yellow card to accompany his goal as he poleaxes Richarlison. 2:40PM 50 mins Capoue has overpowered Mkhitaryan. "He's had a poor game, lost the ball too often," says A Smith. "You'd have hoped that the goal against Milan might encourage him to kick on, but..." 2:37PM 47 mins Femenia crunches a volley, it hits Holding and pings out for a corner. Arsenal's defending of the dead ball is less than assured. 2:35PM Blanky Wrighty needs blanky Credit: Sky 2:34PM 46 mins Iwobi, back to goal, does well to tee up Xhaka. Creamed at goal, and the Watford goalie needs two attempts to stop it. Parries, then gathers. 2:32PM Players are back out Cech looks way intense. Maybe it's the hunt for that 200th clean sheet? Anyway. No subs. Arsenal to kick off. 2:29PM Nice work from Opta 50 - Mesut Özil has become the fastest player to reach 50 Premier League assists, doing so in just 141 games and breaking the record previously held by Eric Cantona (143 games). Magic. pic.twitter.com/yMZquraDd3— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 11, 2018 2:20PM Half time: Arsenal 1 Watford 0 Arsenal bossed that for half an hour but were clinging on as the half drew to a close. No reason at all for Watford to despair. I fancy them for a goal. 2:19PM 45 mins More stress for Arsenal. Richarlison! Good effort from a cross, Cech tips it behind. Now tey have to deal with a corner, the ball flashes through the area, and mercifully for Arsenal the ref brings this half to a close with the hosts on the ropes. Watford might have hoped for another couple of minutes added there, there were only two.... 2:15PM 44 mins Cech has the ball. Pereyra is all up in his grille. Cech attempts to throw the ball and there is a heart-stopping moment for him as he manages to get only a yard on the throw! OMG. Hacked clear. 2:13PM 42 mins If Femenía were two-footed, he would have had a glorious chance. But he is not. Really good spell for the Hornets, Arsenal look defensively incompetent, nervous, and lacking in spirit. Which they are. 2:12PM 41 mins Nicely worked freekick, El Neny regresses to the mean by nodding off and letting his man go past him. At the back stick, Femenía has an effort, Holding with the half block. It's onto the roof of the net. 2:11PM 39 mins Good couple of minutes from Holebas, some good battling and not a decent ball into the box. Any mention of him always has me humming Watford are at it now. Mkhitaryan has given the ball away to increase the pressure. Now Hollaback wins a corner. 2:07PM 35 mins Sound the town bell, Arsenal are actually fighting for the ball. First Henrik M and now Aubameyang win physical duels. 2:05PM 34 mins Arsenal enjoying a nice spell on the ball, looking a cut above Watford right now. Troy Deeney equaliser incoming in 7 minutes, then. 2:01PM 30 mins Ozil, who has been bossing this, gets the back of his ankle trodden on by that man Prodl. Sore one. Goes down. Arsenal relieved to see him get back to his feet. 1:59PM 27 mins Really should have been the equaliser there, or at the bare minimum hit the target. Arsenal nearly exact swift, full revenge when they go up the other end. El Neny slips the ball to Ozil, who glides into the area and tries to dink it, but Watford's keeper Karnezis manages to get his trailing leg on it. Narrow squeak. 1:57PM 26 mins It's a good freekick from Richarlison, Cech gets down to the low ball and parries it... right back into the danger area. It's on a plate for Pereyra but he has made a real pig's ear of the chance. 1:56PM 25 mins Xhaka has given away a bit of a soft freekick, handy position. Didn't really need to make the tackle, his man was going nowhere. 1:54PM 23 mins Ozil plays the ball with his shoulder! 1:53PM 22 mins Prodl is putting himself about, I wouldn't be surprised to see a booking for him, he's made some heavy metal tackles and God knows he only has to mistime it by a fraction. 1:48PM 18 mins Good move! El Nenny opens up the defence, Kolasinac with a nice hard low cross, and Aubameyang slides in to guide the ball... just wide. Defence splitting pass by *checks notes...checks notes again*...Mohamed Elneny?— Nick Miller (@NickMiller79) March 11, 2018 1:47PM Thousands of em Mustafi scores what the stadium announcer describes as "Arsenal's 1000th Premier League goal", which I can confirm is definitely not a thing.— Jonathan Liew (@jonathanliew) March 11, 2018 1:45PM 15 mins A stop-start few minutes as first we need to stop the game as Shkodran Mustafi gets a bit of treatment. And now Elneny has accidentally given Richarlison a whack in the puss and he needs looked at as well. 1:43PM 10 mins Arsenal have a chance to break here, Mkhitaryan plays it in behind for Aubameyang. Prodl manages to muscle the Arsenal striker off the ball, and in fact does that with some ease. 1:40PM 8 mins The goal appears to have woken Watford up, they make a decent attack that wins a corner. 1:39PM GOAL! Mustafi! Arsenal! Watford have been undone with the simplest of freekicks. Ozil about 30 yards out on the left, decent delivery, and Mustafi has got up nicely in between the centre halves to nod it in. Pretty wet from Watford, who have not been at the races and have suffered the indignity of being overpowered in the air by Arsenal. 1:36PM 5 mins Richarlison, one of my favourites, gallops down that left flank and drills a shot that won't be causing Cech any sleepless nights. 1:35PM 4 mins There's no hostility from the Arsenal fans this afternoon, they are not on the team's back. That result against Milan was very welcome. It has been a bright start from the hosts, Mkhitaryan among those getting on the ball and asking some questions. 1:33PM 2 mins Decent from Arsenal. This is nice play from Ozil, slipped forward for Aubameyang who races forward onto the ball, he hits it nicely but straight at the keeper who nevertheless earns his money because that was really travelling. Corner cleared no dramas. 1:30PM 1 mins Watford kick off. "Plenty of empty seats," winces Alan Smith on the telly. 1:29PM Very much so indeed Motty Today’s match will be this mans last ever live commentary. What an incredible 50 year career. A truly brilliant broadcaster. pic.twitter.com/DvdXfINfOP— James Corden (@JKCorden) March 11, 2018 1:29PM Watford side Credit: Sky Sports Premier League 1:28PM Arsenal side Credit: Sky Sports Premier League 1:27PM Sherwood is having a super Sunday! "Cech looks well up for this. He's normally a calming presence, he looks like is ready to go out there and chin somebody!" Credit: Getty Images 1:25PM Bloody nora This is terrible! Burnley substitutes let kids onto the bench to escape fighting in stands #WHUBURpic.twitter.com/VVaVNoxICj— Johnny Phillips (@SkyJohnnyP) March 10, 2018 1:22PM Tim Sherwood with some good punditry "Doucouré is better than anything Arsenal have in midfield. He gets up and down, he can hit them off both feet, he's got an eye for goal. He is a typical complete Premier League player. "Managers come into Watford knowing they have no say in the recruitment, but the recruitment is done well. Players know that they come into Watford, do well, and it is a stepping stone. The club realise that too, they are a selling club, and it is all about staying in the PL. And they have are staying up each season quite easily." Pretty good summary of Watford's situation and philosophy, no? 1:19PM It's the Premier League's newest coach versus its most long-standing. 1:06PM Those teams again Arsenal: Cech, Maitland-Niles, Mustafi, Holding, Kolasinac, Elneny, Xhaka, Mkhitaryan, Ozil, Iwobi, Aubameyang. Subs: Wilshere, Ospina, Chambers, Welbeck, Nelson, Nketiah, Willock. Watford: Karnezis, Janmaat, Prodl, Mariappa, Holebas, Doucoure, Capoue, Femenia, Pereyra, Richarlison, Deeney. Subs: Britos, Sinclair, Gray, Hughes, Carrillo, Okaka, Bachmann. Referee: Martin Atkinson (W Yorkshire) 1:05PM Interesting from Arsene on hate Arsene Wenger has revealed the physical and emotional torment he has suffered in recent weeks as Arsenal have produced their worst run of form in more than 15 years. The Arsenal manager admitted that the club’s recent struggles had left him in “disastrous shape” and struggling to sleep as his side fell to four consecutive defeats for the first time since 2002. He also revealed that he has received messages of support from the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson, the former Manchester United manager. “It is not the person they hate,” Wenger said of the supporters who have called for him to be replaced. “They hate the manager who does not deliver the performance. I can make that difference. Arsene Wenger admits to feeling the strain of Arsenal's losing run 12:45PM Kick off is at 1.30 Arsenal surely cannot afford another slip up, can they? Morale somewhat restored after that European result midweek, but team spirit is hanging by a thread. 12:44PM Here be Hornets �� | #watfordfc line-up v @Arsenal | Karnezis (GK); Femenía, Prödl, Mariappa, Holebas; Doucouré, Capoue; Janmaat, Pereyra, Richarlison; Deeney (C). Subs | Bachmann (GK), Britos, Hughes, Carrillo, Sinclair, Gray, Okaka.#ARSWATpic.twitter.com/bjglz70Lz9— Watford Football Club (@WatfordFC) March 11, 2018 12:43PM Here is the Arsenal team �� Our starting XI for this afternoon's game against @WatfordFC#AFCvWFCpic.twitter.com/ZSlSF0NCGX— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) March 11, 2018 12:29PM Match preview Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker has revealed how the burden of needing to perform on a match day brings him close to throwing up. The World Cup winner is set to take his first steps into management when he begins a role as Arsenal's new academy manager from the start of the 2018/19 campaign. Mertesacker has, however, continued to be part of Arsene Wenger's first-team squad, but last featured in the third-round FA Cup defeat at Nottingham Forest in January. The 33-year-old gave a wide-ranging interview with German weekly news magazine Der Spiegel, in which he addressed the issues he tackled on the pitch as well as looking ahead to the next chapter of his career. "Some days you realise that everything is a burden, both physically and mentally... but you have to deliver without a doubt, even if you are injured," former Germany international Mertesacker said. "In the moments before a game starts, my stomach turns around as if I had to vomit. Then I have to choke so violently until my eyes water." Mertesacker has revealed the pressure that builds before a match Credit: Getty Images Despite his difficulties, Mertesacker - who also won the FA Cup three times with Arsenal and captained the team, becoming a cult figure with fans - has no regrets. "Even if I had to vomit before every game and go to rehab 20 times, I would do it all over again. It was worth it for all of the memories," he said. Mertesacker's decision to retire has been brought on in part by a long-standing knee problem. "My body is finished," the German told Der Spiegel. "Everyone says I should enjoy the last year, to play as much as possible and take everything in, (but) I would rather sit on the bench or - even better - in the stands, and then, for the first time in my life, aged more than 30, I will feel free."

It received the biggest cheer of the afternoon but did not come when any of Arsenal’s three goals were scored or even as the final whistle was blown and a run of three successive Premier League defeats had been arrested. Instead it came at the pivotal incident when Troy Deeney had to show the ‘cojones’, the mental strength he had said Arsenal lacked after the last meeting between these two sides in October when he came on as a substitute to turn the game around. Deeney scored from the penalty spot then and he was presented with the chance, immediately after Arsenal had gone into a 2-0 lead, to do so again here. There was more than 30 minutes still to play and Arsenal had been wobbling when Deeney had the golden opportunity to get his team back into it. But the striker’s kick was far too straight and Petr Cech diverted it away with an outstretched arm. It was the first time, at the 16th attempt, that Cech had saved a penalty in Arsenal colours and it also helped him – finally – to collect a 200th clean sheet in the Premier League. The 35-year-old therefore became the first goalkeeper to reach that mark having been stuck on 199 since mid-December. Asked whether Deeney’s comments had fired up his players, Arsene Wenger acknowledged it had been a factor. “You know you cannot be a footballer without pride,” he said. There has been a lot of wounded pride at Arsenal this season. “You cannot be in this sport without pride. All these things count always a little bit. For how much I don’t know. But of course it plays a part.” Shkodran Mustafi scores Arsenal's first goal Credit: REUTERS How the Arsenal fans also delighted in Deeney’s failure; or at least those who turned up. Anger has turned to apathy at the Emirates and there were thousands of empty seats as this game unfolded and that will be of concern to the club. Officially, there were 59,131 seats ‘sold’ but a lot were unoccupied. Many, many fans voted with their feet and this was not in anticipation of a defeat against Manchester City on a freezing cold night, as with their previous home game, but for a fixture against mid-table Watford on a Sunday lunchtime. “Your ground’s too big for you,” taunted the Watford supporters early on. For Wenger there was, nevertheless, obvious relief at this result even if it was also evident that he is now prioritising the Europa League as he made six changes from the side that gained a 2-0 lead away to AC Milan in the first leg of Arsenal’s last-16 tie. They face the same opponents at the Emirates on Thursday and Wenger knows that with the chance of finishing in the top four gone his only hope of Champions League qualification, and maybe saving his job, is to win the Europa League. It is a gamble. And despite the emphatic scoreline so was this game; a game in which Cech was Arsenal’s man-of-the-match and, once more, they looked vulnerable each time their opponents attacked them which was made all the more alarming considering the early grip they had taken. In fact Arsenal could have scored even before they did in the eighth minute. Already Watford goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis had saved well from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, diverting his shot for a corner with his leg when the striker was slipped through by Mesut Ozil, before he was beaten. Ozil’s free-kick was met by Shkodran Mustafi who guided his header back across goal after inexplicably being left unmarked by Adrian Mariappa and Jose Holebas. It marked the 1,000 goal Arsenal had scored in the Premier League at home with only Manchester United having reached that mark quicker. But thousands missed the 3-0 win with fans staying away Credit: Getty Images At that point it felt like it would be a long afternoon for Watford but they soon began to rack up chances. Firstly Richarlison was put clear by Roberto Pereyra with a long ball but he checked, rather than shot, with the opportunity opening up for the onrushing Abdoulaye Doucoure whose low drive was smartly blocked by Cech. Then Watford should have levelled when Richarlison’s free-kick was pushed out by a scrambling Cech only for Pereyra to blast the rebound over when he surely had to score or pass to the unmarked Mariappa. Immediately Arsenal countered and appeared set to double their advantage with Ozil nudging the ball past Mariappa to put himself through on goal only for Karnezis to save his side-footed shot with his legs. On half-time a cross by Kiko Femenia was met by Richarlison and his near post header was pushed away by Cech. Arsenal were sloppy, careless and Watford will have felt they did not deserve to be behind. But, instead, they conceded again when Henrikh Mkhitaryan ran through the middle and slipped a pass to Aubameyang. Karnezis rushed out but stopped, realising he was not going to get there with Aubameyang rounding him before clipping the ball into the empty net. Cech saves Deeney's penalty Credit: Getty Images Europe Soon after, Watford were awarded their penalty as Pereyra dribbled into the area and was caught by Ainsley Maitland-Niles' outstretched trailing leg. Deeney missed and Watford soon lost heart as Ozil ran free down the left and crossed low. The ball was pushed out by Karnezis but only to Aubameyang who turned and passed to Mkhitaryan. The Armenian side-footed home to end any lingering doubt. “Deeney, Deeney, what’s the score?” taunted the Arsenal fans while Hector Bellerin – who had conceded the penalty when Arsenal lost to Watford last autumn – trolled Deeney by tweeting: “Looks like you couldn’t see today either.” Deeney will take that on the chin. And hopefully it will not prove to be false bravado for the rest of Arsenal's campaign. 3:23PM Full time: Arsenal 3 Watford 0 Not flawless from Arsenal, but they'll absolutely take this. Probably the key moment was the penalty save at 2-0. Had Troy Deeney put that away, it would have been 2-1, and with this fragile Arsenal side, you never know. But as it turned out, a handy win for Arsenal. Ten out of ten home wins for teams below them for Arsenal this season. Thanks for following it with us. I myself am dashing to blog Bournemouth v Tottenham, the Redknapp derby, and so I will bid you good day. Match report will be up directly. 3:18PM 90 mins From a freekick, the ball drops kindly for a Watford player but, unkindly, the player to whom it drops is Prodl. Row ZZ. 3:17PM 87 mins Xhaka yells at Referee Atkinson, who books him for being a total pranny dissent. Xhaka still goes back for more. 3:14PM 85 mins Arsenal looking classy now, they're opening up Watford at will. Wilshere slips it to Welbeck, he cracks the ball at goal. Parried out. Watford have had enough, I'd say. 3:11PM Some front Troy Deeney set to break the Premier Leaue record for fronting up - currently held jointly by John Terry and Joe Hart - after this game— Adam Hurrey (@FootballCliches) March 11, 2018 3:10PM 80 mins Miguel Britos replaces Daryl Janmaat and that'll be the final change for either side. 3:07PM 78 mins Mkhitaryan taken off immediately. Jack Wilshere the man who comes on. Sore one for Xhaka as Deeney stands on the back of his calf. 3:06PM GOAL! Mkhitaryan! Arsenal 3 Watford 0 Ozil down the left, he plays the ball to Aubameyang. He shows good composure and vision to find his former Dortmund colleague a few yards further inside. Mkhitaryan hits it. Goalie should have done A LOT better there. Goal. These two love playing together - @Aubameyang7 lays it off this time and @HenrikhMkh fires home#AFCvWFC 3-0 (77) pic.twitter.com/bKurN2B84i— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) March 11, 2018 3:01PM 72 mins Richarlison does well to get to the byline, Mustafi gets it clear. His reward for that piece of defending is to be subbed off for a nice sit down. Chambers is the man to replace him. 2:58PM 70 mins Watford look like they have run their race. 2:57PM 67 mins Pereyra off for Okaka. Dat Guy Welbz is on for Iwobbly. 2:56PM What a balloon Simone Zaza trying to headbutt someone’s arm to get a free kick is the funniest thing I’ve seen today. pic.twitter.com/nBwUKeOLrV— Dan Critchlow (@afcDW) March 10, 2018 2:53PM 65 mins Now Holebas tacks a turn to clatter Mkhitaryan. Yeller. 2:52PM 63 mins Arsenal should have a penalty of their own. Mkhitaryan into the box on the right and he gets his pass away a split second before Mariappa absolutely cleans him out. Mariappa is lucky that Mkhitaryan had already got rid of the ball because otherwise that was a pen all day. Femenía off for Hughes. 2:48PM 60 mins Just as I was going to say that Arsenal can relax a bit, Pereyra has been awarded a penalty as Maitland-Niles clumsily blocks him off. Troy Deeney steps up to take the penalty, he wallops it down the middle. Cech dives to his right but gets his hand up, he's blocked it, and the Arsenal fans, who have beef with TD, absolutely love it. Some of them even cheer. Deeney penalty saved 2:47PM GOAL! Arsenal 2 Watford 0 (Aubameyang) Mkhitaryan has not done a lot, but he's picked the ball up here and driven forward. Times his through ball perfectly, Aubameyang is onto it, round the keeper and slots it away. Against the run of play, but Arsenal won't care about that. 2:44PM 55 mins Oof. Watford with an excellent ball in, narrowly wide. Arsenal clinging on. 2:43PM 54 mins Mustafi has a yellow card to accompany his goal as he poleaxes Richarlison. 2:40PM 50 mins Capoue has overpowered Mkhitaryan. "He's had a poor game, lost the ball too often," says A Smith. "You'd have hoped that the goal against Milan might encourage him to kick on, but..." 2:37PM 47 mins Femenia crunches a volley, it hits Holding and pings out for a corner. Arsenal's defending of the dead ball is less than assured. 2:35PM Blanky Wrighty needs blanky Credit: Sky 2:34PM 46 mins Iwobi, back to goal, does well to tee up Xhaka. Creamed at goal, and the Watford goalie needs two attempts to stop it. Parries, then gathers. 2:32PM Players are back out Cech looks way intense. Maybe it's the hunt for that 200th clean sheet? Anyway. No subs. Arsenal to kick off. 2:29PM Nice work from Opta 50 - Mesut Özil has become the fastest player to reach 50 Premier League assists, doing so in just 141 games and breaking the record previously held by Eric Cantona (143 games). Magic. pic.twitter.com/yMZquraDd3— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 11, 2018 2:20PM Half time: Arsenal 1 Watford 0 Arsenal bossed that for half an hour but were clinging on as the half drew to a close. No reason at all for Watford to despair. I fancy them for a goal. 2:19PM 45 mins More stress for Arsenal. Richarlison! Good effort from a cross, Cech tips it behind. Now tey have to deal with a corner, the ball flashes through the area, and mercifully for Arsenal the ref brings this half to a close with the hosts on the ropes. Watford might have hoped for another couple of minutes added there, there were only two.... 2:15PM 44 mins Cech has the ball. Pereyra is all up in his grille. Cech attempts to throw the ball and there is a heart-stopping moment for him as he manages to get only a yard on the throw! OMG. Hacked clear. 2:13PM 42 mins If Femenía were two-footed, he would have had a glorious chance. But he is not. Really good spell for the Hornets, Arsenal look defensively incompetent, nervous, and lacking in spirit. Which they are. 2:12PM 41 mins Nicely worked freekick, El Neny regresses to the mean by nodding off and letting his man go past him. At the back stick, Femenía has an effort, Holding with the half block. It's onto the roof of the net. 2:11PM 39 mins Good couple of minutes from Holebas, some good battling and not a decent ball into the box. Any mention of him always has me humming Watford are at it now. Mkhitaryan has given the ball away to increase the pressure. Now Hollaback wins a corner. 2:07PM 35 mins Sound the town bell, Arsenal are actually fighting for the ball. First Henrik M and now Aubameyang win physical duels. 2:05PM 34 mins Arsenal enjoying a nice spell on the ball, looking a cut above Watford right now. Troy Deeney equaliser incoming in 7 minutes, then. 2:01PM 30 mins Ozil, who has been bossing this, gets the back of his ankle trodden on by that man Prodl. Sore one. Goes down. Arsenal relieved to see him get back to his feet. 1:59PM 27 mins Really should have been the equaliser there, or at the bare minimum hit the target. Arsenal nearly exact swift, full revenge when they go up the other end. El Neny slips the ball to Ozil, who glides into the area and tries to dink it, but Watford's keeper Karnezis manages to get his trailing leg on it. Narrow squeak. 1:57PM 26 mins It's a good freekick from Richarlison, Cech gets down to the low ball and parries it... right back into the danger area. It's on a plate for Pereyra but he has made a real pig's ear of the chance. 1:56PM 25 mins Xhaka has given away a bit of a soft freekick, handy position. Didn't really need to make the tackle, his man was going nowhere. 1:54PM 23 mins Ozil plays the ball with his shoulder! 1:53PM 22 mins Prodl is putting himself about, I wouldn't be surprised to see a booking for him, he's made some heavy metal tackles and God knows he only has to mistime it by a fraction. 1:48PM 18 mins Good move! El Nenny opens up the defence, Kolasinac with a nice hard low cross, and Aubameyang slides in to guide the ball... just wide. Defence splitting pass by *checks notes...checks notes again*...Mohamed Elneny?— Nick Miller (@NickMiller79) March 11, 2018 1:47PM Thousands of em Mustafi scores what the stadium announcer describes as "Arsenal's 1000th Premier League goal", which I can confirm is definitely not a thing.— Jonathan Liew (@jonathanliew) March 11, 2018 1:45PM 15 mins A stop-start few minutes as first we need to stop the game as Shkodran Mustafi gets a bit of treatment. And now Elneny has accidentally given Richarlison a whack in the puss and he needs looked at as well. 1:43PM 10 mins Arsenal have a chance to break here, Mkhitaryan plays it in behind for Aubameyang. Prodl manages to muscle the Arsenal striker off the ball, and in fact does that with some ease. 1:40PM 8 mins The goal appears to have woken Watford up, they make a decent attack that wins a corner. 1:39PM GOAL! Mustafi! Arsenal! Watford have been undone with the simplest of freekicks. Ozil about 30 yards out on the left, decent delivery, and Mustafi has got up nicely in between the centre halves to nod it in. Pretty wet from Watford, who have not been at the races and have suffered the indignity of being overpowered in the air by Arsenal. 1:36PM 5 mins Richarlison, one of my favourites, gallops down that left flank and drills a shot that won't be causing Cech any sleepless nights. 1:35PM 4 mins There's no hostility from the Arsenal fans this afternoon, they are not on the team's back. That result against Milan was very welcome. It has been a bright start from the hosts, Mkhitaryan among those getting on the ball and asking some questions. 1:33PM 2 mins Decent from Arsenal. This is nice play from Ozil, slipped forward for Aubameyang who races forward onto the ball, he hits it nicely but straight at the keeper who nevertheless earns his money because that was really travelling. Corner cleared no dramas. 1:30PM 1 mins Watford kick off. "Plenty of empty seats," winces Alan Smith on the telly. 1:29PM Very much so indeed Motty Today’s match will be this mans last ever live commentary. What an incredible 50 year career. A truly brilliant broadcaster. pic.twitter.com/DvdXfINfOP— James Corden (@JKCorden) March 11, 2018 1:29PM Watford side Credit: Sky Sports Premier League 1:28PM Arsenal side Credit: Sky Sports Premier League 1:27PM Sherwood is having a super Sunday! "Cech looks well up for this. He's normally a calming presence, he looks like is ready to go out there and chin somebody!" Credit: Getty Images 1:25PM Bloody nora This is terrible! Burnley substitutes let kids onto the bench to escape fighting in stands #WHUBURpic.twitter.com/VVaVNoxICj— Johnny Phillips (@SkyJohnnyP) March 10, 2018 1:22PM Tim Sherwood with some good punditry "Doucouré is better than anything Arsenal have in midfield. He gets up and down, he can hit them off both feet, he's got an eye for goal. He is a typical complete Premier League player. "Managers come into Watford knowing they have no say in the recruitment, but the recruitment is done well. Players know that they come into Watford, do well, and it is a stepping stone. The club realise that too, they are a selling club, and it is all about staying in the PL. And they have are staying up each season quite easily." Pretty good summary of Watford's situation and philosophy, no? 1:19PM It's the Premier League's newest coach versus its most long-standing. 1:06PM Those teams again Arsenal: Cech, Maitland-Niles, Mustafi, Holding, Kolasinac, Elneny, Xhaka, Mkhitaryan, Ozil, Iwobi, Aubameyang. Subs: Wilshere, Ospina, Chambers, Welbeck, Nelson, Nketiah, Willock. Watford: Karnezis, Janmaat, Prodl, Mariappa, Holebas, Doucoure, Capoue, Femenia, Pereyra, Richarlison, Deeney. Subs: Britos, Sinclair, Gray, Hughes, Carrillo, Okaka, Bachmann. Referee: Martin Atkinson (W Yorkshire) 1:05PM Interesting from Arsene on hate Arsene Wenger has revealed the physical and emotional torment he has suffered in recent weeks as Arsenal have produced their worst run of form in more than 15 years. The Arsenal manager admitted that the club’s recent struggles had left him in “disastrous shape” and struggling to sleep as his side fell to four consecutive defeats for the first time since 2002. He also revealed that he has received messages of support from the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson, the former Manchester United manager. “It is not the person they hate,” Wenger said of the supporters who have called for him to be replaced. “They hate the manager who does not deliver the performance. I can make that difference. Arsene Wenger admits to feeling the strain of Arsenal's losing run 12:45PM Kick off is at 1.30 Arsenal surely cannot afford another slip up, can they? Morale somewhat restored after that European result midweek, but team spirit is hanging by a thread. 12:44PM Here be Hornets �� | #watfordfc line-up v @Arsenal | Karnezis (GK); Femenía, Prödl, Mariappa, Holebas; Doucouré, Capoue; Janmaat, Pereyra, Richarlison; Deeney (C). Subs | Bachmann (GK), Britos, Hughes, Carrillo, Sinclair, Gray, Okaka.#ARSWATpic.twitter.com/bjglz70Lz9— Watford Football Club (@WatfordFC) March 11, 2018 12:43PM Here is the Arsenal team �� Our starting XI for this afternoon's game against @WatfordFC#AFCvWFCpic.twitter.com/ZSlSF0NCGX— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) March 11, 2018 12:29PM Match preview Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker has revealed how the burden of needing to perform on a match day brings him close to throwing up. The World Cup winner is set to take his first steps into management when he begins a role as Arsenal's new academy manager from the start of the 2018/19 campaign. Mertesacker has, however, continued to be part of Arsene Wenger's first-team squad, but last featured in the third-round FA Cup defeat at Nottingham Forest in January. The 33-year-old gave a wide-ranging interview with German weekly news magazine Der Spiegel, in which he addressed the issues he tackled on the pitch as well as looking ahead to the next chapter of his career. "Some days you realise that everything is a burden, both physically and mentally... but you have to deliver without a doubt, even if you are injured," former Germany international Mertesacker said. "In the moments before a game starts, my stomach turns around as if I had to vomit. Then I have to choke so violently until my eyes water." Mertesacker has revealed the pressure that builds before a match Credit: Getty Images Despite his difficulties, Mertesacker - who also won the FA Cup three times with Arsenal and captained the team, becoming a cult figure with fans - has no regrets. "Even if I had to vomit before every game and go to rehab 20 times, I would do it all over again. It was worth it for all of the memories," he said. Mertesacker's decision to retire has been brought on in part by a long-standing knee problem. "My body is finished," the German told Der Spiegel. "Everyone says I should enjoy the last year, to play as much as possible and take everything in, (but) I would rather sit on the bench or - even better - in the stands, and then, for the first time in my life, aged more than 30, I will feel free."

It received the biggest cheer of the afternoon but did not come when any of Arsenal’s three goals were scored or even as the final whistle was blown and a run of three successive Premier League defeats had been arrested. Instead it came at the pivotal incident when Troy Deeney had to show the ‘cojones’, the mental strength he had said Arsenal lacked after the last meeting between these two sides in October when he came on as a substitute to turn the game around. Deeney scored from the penalty spot then and he was presented with the chance, immediately after Arsenal had gone into a 2-0 lead, to do so again here. There was more than 30 minutes still to play and Arsenal had been wobbling when Deeney had the golden opportunity to get his team back into it. But the striker’s kick was far too straight and Petr Cech diverted it away with an outstretched arm. It was the first time, at the 16th attempt, that Cech had saved a penalty in Arsenal colours and it also helped him – finally – to collect a 200th clean sheet in the Premier League. The 35-year-old therefore became the first goalkeeper to reach that mark having been stuck on 199 since mid-December. Asked whether Deeney’s comments had fired up his players, Arsene Wenger acknowledged it had been a factor. “You know you cannot be a footballer without pride,” he said. There has been a lot of wounded pride at Arsenal this season. “You cannot be in this sport without pride. All these things count always a little bit. For how much I don’t know. But of course it plays a part.” Shkodran Mustafi scores Arsenal's first goal Credit: REUTERS How the Arsenal fans also delighted in Deeney’s failure; or at least those who turned up. Anger has turned to apathy at the Emirates and there were thousands of empty seats as this game unfolded and that will be of concern to the club. Officially, there were 59,131 seats ‘sold’ but a lot were unoccupied. Many, many fans voted with their feet and this was not in anticipation of a defeat against Manchester City on a freezing cold night, as with their previous home game, but for a fixture against mid-table Watford on a Sunday lunchtime. “Your ground’s too big for you,” taunted the Watford supporters early on. For Wenger there was, nevertheless, obvious relief at this result even if it was also evident that he is now prioritising the Europa League as he made six changes from the side that gained a 2-0 lead away to AC Milan in the first leg of Arsenal’s last-16 tie. They face the same opponents at the Emirates on Thursday and Wenger knows that with the chance of finishing in the top four gone his only hope of Champions League qualification, and maybe saving his job, is to win the Europa League. It is a gamble. And despite the emphatic scoreline so was this game; a game in which Cech was Arsenal’s man-of-the-match and, once more, they looked vulnerable each time their opponents attacked them which was made all the more alarming considering the early grip they had taken. In fact Arsenal could have scored even before they did in the eighth minute. Already Watford goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis had saved well from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, diverting his shot for a corner with his leg when the striker was slipped through by Mesut Ozil, before he was beaten. Ozil’s free-kick was met by Shkodran Mustafi who guided his header back across goal after inexplicably being left unmarked by Adrian Mariappa and Jose Holebas. It marked the 1,000 goal Arsenal had scored in the Premier League at home with only Manchester United having reached that mark quicker. But thousands missed the 3-0 win with fans staying away Credit: Getty Images At that point it felt like it would be a long afternoon for Watford but they soon began to rack up chances. Firstly Richarlison was put clear by Roberto Pereyra with a long ball but he checked, rather than shot, with the opportunity opening up for the onrushing Abdoulaye Doucoure whose low drive was smartly blocked by Cech. Then Watford should have levelled when Richarlison’s free-kick was pushed out by a scrambling Cech only for Pereyra to blast the rebound over when he surely had to score or pass to the unmarked Mariappa. Immediately Arsenal countered and appeared set to double their advantage with Ozil nudging the ball past Mariappa to put himself through on goal only for Karnezis to save his side-footed shot with his legs. On half-time a cross by Kiko Femenia was met by Richarlison and his near post header was pushed away by Cech. Arsenal were sloppy, careless and Watford will have felt they did not deserve to be behind. But, instead, they conceded again when Henrikh Mkhitaryan ran through the middle and slipped a pass to Aubameyang. Karnezis rushed out but stopped, realising he was not going to get there with Aubameyang rounding him before clipping the ball into the empty net. Cech saves Deeney's penalty Credit: Getty Images Europe Soon after, Watford were awarded their penalty as Pereyra dribbled into the area and was caught by Ainsley Maitland-Niles' outstretched trailing leg. Deeney missed and Watford soon lost heart as Ozil ran free down the left and crossed low. The ball was pushed out by Karnezis but only to Aubameyang who turned and passed to Mkhitaryan. The Armenian side-footed home to end any lingering doubt. “Deeney, Deeney, what’s the score?” taunted the Arsenal fans while Hector Bellerin – who had conceded the penalty when Arsenal lost to Watford last autumn – trolled Deeney by tweeting: “Looks like you couldn’t see today either.” Deeney will take that on the chin. And hopefully it will not prove to be false bravado for the rest of Arsenal's campaign. 3:23PM Full time: Arsenal 3 Watford 0 Not flawless from Arsenal, but they'll absolutely take this. Probably the key moment was the penalty save at 2-0. Had Troy Deeney put that away, it would have been 2-1, and with this fragile Arsenal side, you never know. But as it turned out, a handy win for Arsenal. Ten out of ten home wins for teams below them for Arsenal this season. Thanks for following it with us. I myself am dashing to blog Bournemouth v Tottenham, the Redknapp derby, and so I will bid you good day. Match report will be up directly. 3:18PM 90 mins From a freekick, the ball drops kindly for a Watford player but, unkindly, the player to whom it drops is Prodl. Row ZZ. 3:17PM 87 mins Xhaka yells at Referee Atkinson, who books him for being a total pranny dissent. Xhaka still goes back for more. 3:14PM 85 mins Arsenal looking classy now, they're opening up Watford at will. Wilshere slips it to Welbeck, he cracks the ball at goal. Parried out. Watford have had enough, I'd say. 3:11PM Some front Troy Deeney set to break the Premier Leaue record for fronting up - currently held jointly by John Terry and Joe Hart - after this game— Adam Hurrey (@FootballCliches) March 11, 2018 3:10PM 80 mins Miguel Britos replaces Daryl Janmaat and that'll be the final change for either side. 3:07PM 78 mins Mkhitaryan taken off immediately. Jack Wilshere the man who comes on. Sore one for Xhaka as Deeney stands on the back of his calf. 3:06PM GOAL! Mkhitaryan! Arsenal 3 Watford 0 Ozil down the left, he plays the ball to Aubameyang. He shows good composure and vision to find his former Dortmund colleague a few yards further inside. Mkhitaryan hits it. Goalie should have done A LOT better there. Goal. These two love playing together - @Aubameyang7 lays it off this time and @HenrikhMkh fires home#AFCvWFC 3-0 (77) pic.twitter.com/bKurN2B84i— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) March 11, 2018 3:01PM 72 mins Richarlison does well to get to the byline, Mustafi gets it clear. His reward for that piece of defending is to be subbed off for a nice sit down. Chambers is the man to replace him. 2:58PM 70 mins Watford look like they have run their race. 2:57PM 67 mins Pereyra off for Okaka. Dat Guy Welbz is on for Iwobbly. 2:56PM What a balloon Simone Zaza trying to headbutt someone’s arm to get a free kick is the funniest thing I’ve seen today. pic.twitter.com/nBwUKeOLrV— Dan Critchlow (@afcDW) March 10, 2018 2:53PM 65 mins Now Holebas tacks a turn to clatter Mkhitaryan. Yeller. 2:52PM 63 mins Arsenal should have a penalty of their own. Mkhitaryan into the box on the right and he gets his pass away a split second before Mariappa absolutely cleans him out. Mariappa is lucky that Mkhitaryan had already got rid of the ball because otherwise that was a pen all day. Femenía off for Hughes. 2:48PM 60 mins Just as I was going to say that Arsenal can relax a bit, Pereyra has been awarded a penalty as Maitland-Niles clumsily blocks him off. Troy Deeney steps up to take the penalty, he wallops it down the middle. Cech dives to his right but gets his hand up, he's blocked it, and the Arsenal fans, who have beef with TD, absolutely love it. Some of them even cheer. Deeney penalty saved 2:47PM GOAL! Arsenal 2 Watford 0 (Aubameyang) Mkhitaryan has not done a lot, but he's picked the ball up here and driven forward. Times his through ball perfectly, Aubameyang is onto it, round the keeper and slots it away. Against the run of play, but Arsenal won't care about that. 2:44PM 55 mins Oof. Watford with an excellent ball in, narrowly wide. Arsenal clinging on. 2:43PM 54 mins Mustafi has a yellow card to accompany his goal as he poleaxes Richarlison. 2:40PM 50 mins Capoue has overpowered Mkhitaryan. "He's had a poor game, lost the ball too often," says A Smith. "You'd have hoped that the goal against Milan might encourage him to kick on, but..." 2:37PM 47 mins Femenia crunches a volley, it hits Holding and pings out for a corner. Arsenal's defending of the dead ball is less than assured. 2:35PM Blanky Wrighty needs blanky Credit: Sky 2:34PM 46 mins Iwobi, back to goal, does well to tee up Xhaka. Creamed at goal, and the Watford goalie needs two attempts to stop it. Parries, then gathers. 2:32PM Players are back out Cech looks way intense. Maybe it's the hunt for that 200th clean sheet? Anyway. No subs. Arsenal to kick off. 2:29PM Nice work from Opta 50 - Mesut Özil has become the fastest player to reach 50 Premier League assists, doing so in just 141 games and breaking the record previously held by Eric Cantona (143 games). Magic. pic.twitter.com/yMZquraDd3— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 11, 2018 2:20PM Half time: Arsenal 1 Watford 0 Arsenal bossed that for half an hour but were clinging on as the half drew to a close. No reason at all for Watford to despair. I fancy them for a goal. 2:19PM 45 mins More stress for Arsenal. Richarlison! Good effort from a cross, Cech tips it behind. Now tey have to deal with a corner, the ball flashes through the area, and mercifully for Arsenal the ref brings this half to a close with the hosts on the ropes. Watford might have hoped for another couple of minutes added there, there were only two.... 2:15PM 44 mins Cech has the ball. Pereyra is all up in his grille. Cech attempts to throw the ball and there is a heart-stopping moment for him as he manages to get only a yard on the throw! OMG. Hacked clear. 2:13PM 42 mins If Femenía were two-footed, he would have had a glorious chance. But he is not. Really good spell for the Hornets, Arsenal look defensively incompetent, nervous, and lacking in spirit. Which they are. 2:12PM 41 mins Nicely worked freekick, El Neny regresses to the mean by nodding off and letting his man go past him. At the back stick, Femenía has an effort, Holding with the half block. It's onto the roof of the net. 2:11PM 39 mins Good couple of minutes from Holebas, some good battling and not a decent ball into the box. Any mention of him always has me humming Watford are at it now. Mkhitaryan has given the ball away to increase the pressure. Now Hollaback wins a corner. 2:07PM 35 mins Sound the town bell, Arsenal are actually fighting for the ball. First Henrik M and now Aubameyang win physical duels. 2:05PM 34 mins Arsenal enjoying a nice spell on the ball, looking a cut above Watford right now. Troy Deeney equaliser incoming in 7 minutes, then. 2:01PM 30 mins Ozil, who has been bossing this, gets the back of his ankle trodden on by that man Prodl. Sore one. Goes down. Arsenal relieved to see him get back to his feet. 1:59PM 27 mins Really should have been the equaliser there, or at the bare minimum hit the target. Arsenal nearly exact swift, full revenge when they go up the other end. El Neny slips the ball to Ozil, who glides into the area and tries to dink it, but Watford's keeper Karnezis manages to get his trailing leg on it. Narrow squeak. 1:57PM 26 mins It's a good freekick from Richarlison, Cech gets down to the low ball and parries it... right back into the danger area. It's on a plate for Pereyra but he has made a real pig's ear of the chance. 1:56PM 25 mins Xhaka has given away a bit of a soft freekick, handy position. Didn't really need to make the tackle, his man was going nowhere. 1:54PM 23 mins Ozil plays the ball with his shoulder! 1:53PM 22 mins Prodl is putting himself about, I wouldn't be surprised to see a booking for him, he's made some heavy metal tackles and God knows he only has to mistime it by a fraction. 1:48PM 18 mins Good move! El Nenny opens up the defence, Kolasinac with a nice hard low cross, and Aubameyang slides in to guide the ball... just wide. Defence splitting pass by *checks notes...checks notes again*...Mohamed Elneny?— Nick Miller (@NickMiller79) March 11, 2018 1:47PM Thousands of em Mustafi scores what the stadium announcer describes as "Arsenal's 1000th Premier League goal", which I can confirm is definitely not a thing.— Jonathan Liew (@jonathanliew) March 11, 2018 1:45PM 15 mins A stop-start few minutes as first we need to stop the game as Shkodran Mustafi gets a bit of treatment. And now Elneny has accidentally given Richarlison a whack in the puss and he needs looked at as well. 1:43PM 10 mins Arsenal have a chance to break here, Mkhitaryan plays it in behind for Aubameyang. Prodl manages to muscle the Arsenal striker off the ball, and in fact does that with some ease. 1:40PM 8 mins The goal appears to have woken Watford up, they make a decent attack that wins a corner. 1:39PM GOAL! Mustafi! Arsenal! Watford have been undone with the simplest of freekicks. Ozil about 30 yards out on the left, decent delivery, and Mustafi has got up nicely in between the centre halves to nod it in. Pretty wet from Watford, who have not been at the races and have suffered the indignity of being overpowered in the air by Arsenal. 1:36PM 5 mins Richarlison, one of my favourites, gallops down that left flank and drills a shot that won't be causing Cech any sleepless nights. 1:35PM 4 mins There's no hostility from the Arsenal fans this afternoon, they are not on the team's back. That result against Milan was very welcome. It has been a bright start from the hosts, Mkhitaryan among those getting on the ball and asking some questions. 1:33PM 2 mins Decent from Arsenal. This is nice play from Ozil, slipped forward for Aubameyang who races forward onto the ball, he hits it nicely but straight at the keeper who nevertheless earns his money because that was really travelling. Corner cleared no dramas. 1:30PM 1 mins Watford kick off. "Plenty of empty seats," winces Alan Smith on the telly. 1:29PM Very much so indeed Motty Today’s match will be this mans last ever live commentary. What an incredible 50 year career. A truly brilliant broadcaster. pic.twitter.com/DvdXfINfOP— James Corden (@JKCorden) March 11, 2018 1:29PM Watford side Credit: Sky Sports Premier League 1:28PM Arsenal side Credit: Sky Sports Premier League 1:27PM Sherwood is having a super Sunday! "Cech looks well up for this. He's normally a calming presence, he looks like is ready to go out there and chin somebody!" Credit: Getty Images 1:25PM Bloody nora This is terrible! Burnley substitutes let kids onto the bench to escape fighting in stands #WHUBURpic.twitter.com/VVaVNoxICj— Johnny Phillips (@SkyJohnnyP) March 10, 2018 1:22PM Tim Sherwood with some good punditry "Doucouré is better than anything Arsenal have in midfield. He gets up and down, he can hit them off both feet, he's got an eye for goal. He is a typical complete Premier League player. "Managers come into Watford knowing they have no say in the recruitment, but the recruitment is done well. Players know that they come into Watford, do well, and it is a stepping stone. The club realise that too, they are a selling club, and it is all about staying in the PL. And they have are staying up each season quite easily." Pretty good summary of Watford's situation and philosophy, no? 1:19PM It's the Premier League's newest coach versus its most long-standing. 1:06PM Those teams again Arsenal: Cech, Maitland-Niles, Mustafi, Holding, Kolasinac, Elneny, Xhaka, Mkhitaryan, Ozil, Iwobi, Aubameyang. Subs: Wilshere, Ospina, Chambers, Welbeck, Nelson, Nketiah, Willock. Watford: Karnezis, Janmaat, Prodl, Mariappa, Holebas, Doucoure, Capoue, Femenia, Pereyra, Richarlison, Deeney. Subs: Britos, Sinclair, Gray, Hughes, Carrillo, Okaka, Bachmann. Referee: Martin Atkinson (W Yorkshire) 1:05PM Interesting from Arsene on hate Arsene Wenger has revealed the physical and emotional torment he has suffered in recent weeks as Arsenal have produced their worst run of form in more than 15 years. The Arsenal manager admitted that the club’s recent struggles had left him in “disastrous shape” and struggling to sleep as his side fell to four consecutive defeats for the first time since 2002. He also revealed that he has received messages of support from the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson, the former Manchester United manager. “It is not the person they hate,” Wenger said of the supporters who have called for him to be replaced. “They hate the manager who does not deliver the performance. I can make that difference. Arsene Wenger admits to feeling the strain of Arsenal's losing run 12:45PM Kick off is at 1.30 Arsenal surely cannot afford another slip up, can they? Morale somewhat restored after that European result midweek, but team spirit is hanging by a thread. 12:44PM Here be Hornets �� | #watfordfc line-up v @Arsenal | Karnezis (GK); Femenía, Prödl, Mariappa, Holebas; Doucouré, Capoue; Janmaat, Pereyra, Richarlison; Deeney (C). Subs | Bachmann (GK), Britos, Hughes, Carrillo, Sinclair, Gray, Okaka.#ARSWATpic.twitter.com/bjglz70Lz9— Watford Football Club (@WatfordFC) March 11, 2018 12:43PM Here is the Arsenal team �� Our starting XI for this afternoon's game against @WatfordFC#AFCvWFCpic.twitter.com/ZSlSF0NCGX— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) March 11, 2018 12:29PM Match preview Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker has revealed how the burden of needing to perform on a match day brings him close to throwing up. The World Cup winner is set to take his first steps into management when he begins a role as Arsenal's new academy manager from the start of the 2018/19 campaign. Mertesacker has, however, continued to be part of Arsene Wenger's first-team squad, but last featured in the third-round FA Cup defeat at Nottingham Forest in January. The 33-year-old gave a wide-ranging interview with German weekly news magazine Der Spiegel, in which he addressed the issues he tackled on the pitch as well as looking ahead to the next chapter of his career. "Some days you realise that everything is a burden, both physically and mentally... but you have to deliver without a doubt, even if you are injured," former Germany international Mertesacker said. "In the moments before a game starts, my stomach turns around as if I had to vomit. Then I have to choke so violently until my eyes water." Mertesacker has revealed the pressure that builds before a match Credit: Getty Images Despite his difficulties, Mertesacker - who also won the FA Cup three times with Arsenal and captained the team, becoming a cult figure with fans - has no regrets. "Even if I had to vomit before every game and go to rehab 20 times, I would do it all over again. It was worth it for all of the memories," he said. Mertesacker's decision to retire has been brought on in part by a long-standing knee problem. "My body is finished," the German told Der Spiegel. "Everyone says I should enjoy the last year, to play as much as possible and take everything in, (but) I would rather sit on the bench or - even better - in the stands, and then, for the first time in my life, aged more than 30, I will feel free."

It received the biggest cheer of the afternoon but did not come when any of Arsenal’s three goals were scored or even as the final whistle was blown and a run of three successive Premier League defeats had been arrested. Instead it came at the pivotal incident when Troy Deeney had to show the ‘cojones’, the mental strength he had said Arsenal lacked after the last meeting between these two sides in October when he came on as a substitute to turn the game around. Deeney scored from the penalty spot then and he was presented with the chance, immediately after Arsenal had gone into a 2-0 lead, to do so again here. There was more than 30 minutes still to play and Arsenal had been wobbling when Deeney had the golden opportunity to get his team back into it. But the striker’s kick was far too straight and Petr Cech diverted it away with an outstretched arm. It was the first time, at the 16th attempt, that Cech had saved a penalty in Arsenal colours and it also helped him – finally – to collect a 200th clean sheet in the Premier League. The 35-year-old therefore became the first goalkeeper to reach that mark having been stuck on 199 since mid-December. Asked whether Deeney’s comments had fired up his players, Arsene Wenger acknowledged it had been a factor. “You know you cannot be a footballer without pride,” he said. There has been a lot of wounded pride at Arsenal this season. “You cannot be in this sport without pride. All these things count always a little bit. For how much I don’t know. But of course it plays a part.” Shkodran Mustafi scores Arsenal's first goal Credit: REUTERS How the Arsenal fans also delighted in Deeney’s failure; or at least those who turned up. Anger has turned to apathy at the Emirates and there were thousands of empty seats as this game unfolded and that will be of concern to the club. Officially, there were 59,131 seats ‘sold’ but a lot were unoccupied. Many, many fans voted with their feet and this was not in anticipation of a defeat against Manchester City on a freezing cold night, as with their previous home game, but for a fixture against mid-table Watford on a Sunday lunchtime. “Your ground’s too big for you,” taunted the Watford supporters early on. For Wenger there was, nevertheless, obvious relief at this result even if it was also evident that he is now prioritising the Europa League as he made six changes from the side that gained a 2-0 lead away to AC Milan in the first leg of Arsenal’s last-16 tie. They face the same opponents at the Emirates on Thursday and Wenger knows that with the chance of finishing in the top four gone his only hope of Champions League qualification, and maybe saving his job, is to win the Europa League. It is a gamble. And despite the emphatic scoreline so was this game; a game in which Cech was Arsenal’s man-of-the-match and, once more, they looked vulnerable each time their opponents attacked them which was made all the more alarming considering the early grip they had taken. In fact Arsenal could have scored even before they did in the eighth minute. Already Watford goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis had saved well from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, diverting his shot for a corner with his leg when the striker was slipped through by Mesut Ozil, before he was beaten. Ozil’s free-kick was met by Shkodran Mustafi who guided his header back across goal after inexplicably being left unmarked by Adrian Mariappa and Jose Holebas. It marked the 1,000 goal Arsenal had scored in the Premier League at home with only Manchester United having reached that mark quicker. But thousands missed the 3-0 win with fans staying away Credit: Getty Images At that point it felt like it would be a long afternoon for Watford but they soon began to rack up chances. Firstly Richarlison was put clear by Roberto Pereyra with a long ball but he checked, rather than shot, with the opportunity opening up for the onrushing Abdoulaye Doucoure whose low drive was smartly blocked by Cech. Then Watford should have levelled when Richarlison’s free-kick was pushed out by a scrambling Cech only for Pereyra to blast the rebound over when he surely had to score or pass to the unmarked Mariappa. Immediately Arsenal countered and appeared set to double their advantage with Ozil nudging the ball past Mariappa to put himself through on goal only for Karnezis to save his side-footed shot with his legs. On half-time a cross by Kiko Femenia was met by Richarlison and his near post header was pushed away by Cech. Arsenal were sloppy, careless and Watford will have felt they did not deserve to be behind. But, instead, they conceded again when Henrikh Mkhitaryan ran through the middle and slipped a pass to Aubameyang. Karnezis rushed out but stopped, realising he was not going to get there with Aubameyang rounding him before clipping the ball into the empty net. Cech saves Deeney's penalty Credit: Getty Images Europe Soon after, Watford were awarded their penalty as Pereyra dribbled into the area and was caught by Ainsley Maitland-Niles' outstretched trailing leg. Deeney missed and Watford soon lost heart as Ozil ran free down the left and crossed low. The ball was pushed out by Karnezis but only to Aubameyang who turned and passed to Mkhitaryan. The Armenian side-footed home to end any lingering doubt. “Deeney, Deeney, what’s the score?” taunted the Arsenal fans while Hector Bellerin – who had conceded the penalty when Arsenal lost to Watford last autumn – trolled Deeney by tweeting: “Looks like you couldn’t see today either.” Deeney will take that on the chin. And hopefully it will not prove to be false bravado for the rest of Arsenal's campaign. 3:23PM Full time: Arsenal 3 Watford 0 Not flawless from Arsenal, but they'll absolutely take this. Probably the key moment was the penalty save at 2-0. Had Troy Deeney put that away, it would have been 2-1, and with this fragile Arsenal side, you never know. But as it turned out, a handy win for Arsenal. Ten out of ten home wins for teams below them for Arsenal this season. Thanks for following it with us. I myself am dashing to blog Bournemouth v Tottenham, the Redknapp derby, and so I will bid you good day. Match report will be up directly. 3:18PM 90 mins From a freekick, the ball drops kindly for a Watford player but, unkindly, the player to whom it drops is Prodl. Row ZZ. 3:17PM 87 mins Xhaka yells at Referee Atkinson, who books him for being a total pranny dissent. Xhaka still goes back for more. 3:14PM 85 mins Arsenal looking classy now, they're opening up Watford at will. Wilshere slips it to Welbeck, he cracks the ball at goal. Parried out. Watford have had enough, I'd say. 3:11PM Some front Troy Deeney set to break the Premier Leaue record for fronting up - currently held jointly by John Terry and Joe Hart - after this game— Adam Hurrey (@FootballCliches) March 11, 2018 3:10PM 80 mins Miguel Britos replaces Daryl Janmaat and that'll be the final change for either side. 3:07PM 78 mins Mkhitaryan taken off immediately. Jack Wilshere the man who comes on. Sore one for Xhaka as Deeney stands on the back of his calf. 3:06PM GOAL! Mkhitaryan! Arsenal 3 Watford 0 Ozil down the left, he plays the ball to Aubameyang. He shows good composure and vision to find his former Dortmund colleague a few yards further inside. Mkhitaryan hits it. Goalie should have done A LOT better there. Goal. These two love playing together - @Aubameyang7 lays it off this time and @HenrikhMkh fires home#AFCvWFC 3-0 (77) pic.twitter.com/bKurN2B84i— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) March 11, 2018 3:01PM 72 mins Richarlison does well to get to the byline, Mustafi gets it clear. His reward for that piece of defending is to be subbed off for a nice sit down. Chambers is the man to replace him. 2:58PM 70 mins Watford look like they have run their race. 2:57PM 67 mins Pereyra off for Okaka. Dat Guy Welbz is on for Iwobbly. 2:56PM What a balloon Simone Zaza trying to headbutt someone’s arm to get a free kick is the funniest thing I’ve seen today. pic.twitter.com/nBwUKeOLrV— Dan Critchlow (@afcDW) March 10, 2018 2:53PM 65 mins Now Holebas tacks a turn to clatter Mkhitaryan. Yeller. 2:52PM 63 mins Arsenal should have a penalty of their own. Mkhitaryan into the box on the right and he gets his pass away a split second before Mariappa absolutely cleans him out. Mariappa is lucky that Mkhitaryan had already got rid of the ball because otherwise that was a pen all day. Femenía off for Hughes. 2:48PM 60 mins Just as I was going to say that Arsenal can relax a bit, Pereyra has been awarded a penalty as Maitland-Niles clumsily blocks him off. Troy Deeney steps up to take the penalty, he wallops it down the middle. Cech dives to his right but gets his hand up, he's blocked it, and the Arsenal fans, who have beef with TD, absolutely love it. Some of them even cheer. Deeney penalty saved 2:47PM GOAL! Arsenal 2 Watford 0 (Aubameyang) Mkhitaryan has not done a lot, but he's picked the ball up here and driven forward. Times his through ball perfectly, Aubameyang is onto it, round the keeper and slots it away. Against the run of play, but Arsenal won't care about that. 2:44PM 55 mins Oof. Watford with an excellent ball in, narrowly wide. Arsenal clinging on. 2:43PM 54 mins Mustafi has a yellow card to accompany his goal as he poleaxes Richarlison. 2:40PM 50 mins Capoue has overpowered Mkhitaryan. "He's had a poor game, lost the ball too often," says A Smith. "You'd have hoped that the goal against Milan might encourage him to kick on, but..." 2:37PM 47 mins Femenia crunches a volley, it hits Holding and pings out for a corner. Arsenal's defending of the dead ball is less than assured. 2:35PM Blanky Wrighty needs blanky Credit: Sky 2:34PM 46 mins Iwobi, back to goal, does well to tee up Xhaka. Creamed at goal, and the Watford goalie needs two attempts to stop it. Parries, then gathers. 2:32PM Players are back out Cech looks way intense. Maybe it's the hunt for that 200th clean sheet? Anyway. No subs. Arsenal to kick off. 2:29PM Nice work from Opta 50 - Mesut Özil has become the fastest player to reach 50 Premier League assists, doing so in just 141 games and breaking the record previously held by Eric Cantona (143 games). Magic. pic.twitter.com/yMZquraDd3— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 11, 2018 2:20PM Half time: Arsenal 1 Watford 0 Arsenal bossed that for half an hour but were clinging on as the half drew to a close. No reason at all for Watford to despair. I fancy them for a goal. 2:19PM 45 mins More stress for Arsenal. Richarlison! Good effort from a cross, Cech tips it behind. Now tey have to deal with a corner, the ball flashes through the area, and mercifully for Arsenal the ref brings this half to a close with the hosts on the ropes. Watford might have hoped for another couple of minutes added there, there were only two.... 2:15PM 44 mins Cech has the ball. Pereyra is all up in his grille. Cech attempts to throw the ball and there is a heart-stopping moment for him as he manages to get only a yard on the throw! OMG. Hacked clear. 2:13PM 42 mins If Femenía were two-footed, he would have had a glorious chance. But he is not. Really good spell for the Hornets, Arsenal look defensively incompetent, nervous, and lacking in spirit. Which they are. 2:12PM 41 mins Nicely worked freekick, El Neny regresses to the mean by nodding off and letting his man go past him. At the back stick, Femenía has an effort, Holding with the half block. It's onto the roof of the net. 2:11PM 39 mins Good couple of minutes from Holebas, some good battling and not a decent ball into the box. Any mention of him always has me humming Watford are at it now. Mkhitaryan has given the ball away to increase the pressure. Now Hollaback wins a corner. 2:07PM 35 mins Sound the town bell, Arsenal are actually fighting for the ball. First Henrik M and now Aubameyang win physical duels. 2:05PM 34 mins Arsenal enjoying a nice spell on the ball, looking a cut above Watford right now. Troy Deeney equaliser incoming in 7 minutes, then. 2:01PM 30 mins Ozil, who has been bossing this, gets the back of his ankle trodden on by that man Prodl. Sore one. Goes down. Arsenal relieved to see him get back to his feet. 1:59PM 27 mins Really should have been the equaliser there, or at the bare minimum hit the target. Arsenal nearly exact swift, full revenge when they go up the other end. El Neny slips the ball to Ozil, who glides into the area and tries to dink it, but Watford's keeper Karnezis manages to get his trailing leg on it. Narrow squeak. 1:57PM 26 mins It's a good freekick from Richarlison, Cech gets down to the low ball and parries it... right back into the danger area. It's on a plate for Pereyra but he has made a real pig's ear of the chance. 1:56PM 25 mins Xhaka has given away a bit of a soft freekick, handy position. Didn't really need to make the tackle, his man was going nowhere. 1:54PM 23 mins Ozil plays the ball with his shoulder! 1:53PM 22 mins Prodl is putting himself about, I wouldn't be surprised to see a booking for him, he's made some heavy metal tackles and God knows he only has to mistime it by a fraction. 1:48PM 18 mins Good move! El Nenny opens up the defence, Kolasinac with a nice hard low cross, and Aubameyang slides in to guide the ball... just wide. Defence splitting pass by *checks notes...checks notes again*...Mohamed Elneny?— Nick Miller (@NickMiller79) March 11, 2018 1:47PM Thousands of em Mustafi scores what the stadium announcer describes as "Arsenal's 1000th Premier League goal", which I can confirm is definitely not a thing.— Jonathan Liew (@jonathanliew) March 11, 2018 1:45PM 15 mins A stop-start few minutes as first we need to stop the game as Shkodran Mustafi gets a bit of treatment. And now Elneny has accidentally given Richarlison a whack in the puss and he needs looked at as well. 1:43PM 10 mins Arsenal have a chance to break here, Mkhitaryan plays it in behind for Aubameyang. Prodl manages to muscle the Arsenal striker off the ball, and in fact does that with some ease. 1:40PM 8 mins The goal appears to have woken Watford up, they make a decent attack that wins a corner. 1:39PM GOAL! Mustafi! Arsenal! Watford have been undone with the simplest of freekicks. Ozil about 30 yards out on the left, decent delivery, and Mustafi has got up nicely in between the centre halves to nod it in. Pretty wet from Watford, who have not been at the races and have suffered the indignity of being overpowered in the air by Arsenal. 1:36PM 5 mins Richarlison, one of my favourites, gallops down that left flank and drills a shot that won't be causing Cech any sleepless nights. 1:35PM 4 mins There's no hostility from the Arsenal fans this afternoon, they are not on the team's back. That result against Milan was very welcome. It has been a bright start from the hosts, Mkhitaryan among those getting on the ball and asking some questions. 1:33PM 2 mins Decent from Arsenal. This is nice play from Ozil, slipped forward for Aubameyang who races forward onto the ball, he hits it nicely but straight at the keeper who nevertheless earns his money because that was really travelling. Corner cleared no dramas. 1:30PM 1 mins Watford kick off. "Plenty of empty seats," winces Alan Smith on the telly. 1:29PM Very much so indeed Motty Today’s match will be this mans last ever live commentary. What an incredible 50 year career. A truly brilliant broadcaster. pic.twitter.com/DvdXfINfOP— James Corden (@JKCorden) March 11, 2018 1:29PM Watford side Credit: Sky Sports Premier League 1:28PM Arsenal side Credit: Sky Sports Premier League 1:27PM Sherwood is having a super Sunday! "Cech looks well up for this. He's normally a calming presence, he looks like is ready to go out there and chin somebody!" Credit: Getty Images 1:25PM Bloody nora This is terrible! Burnley substitutes let kids onto the bench to escape fighting in stands #WHUBURpic.twitter.com/VVaVNoxICj— Johnny Phillips (@SkyJohnnyP) March 10, 2018 1:22PM Tim Sherwood with some good punditry "Doucouré is better than anything Arsenal have in midfield. He gets up and down, he can hit them off both feet, he's got an eye for goal. He is a typical complete Premier League player. "Managers come into Watford knowing they have no say in the recruitment, but the recruitment is done well. Players know that they come into Watford, do well, and it is a stepping stone. The club realise that too, they are a selling club, and it is all about staying in the PL. And they have are staying up each season quite easily." Pretty good summary of Watford's situation and philosophy, no? 1:19PM It's the Premier League's newest coach versus its most long-standing. 1:06PM Those teams again Arsenal: Cech, Maitland-Niles, Mustafi, Holding, Kolasinac, Elneny, Xhaka, Mkhitaryan, Ozil, Iwobi, Aubameyang. Subs: Wilshere, Ospina, Chambers, Welbeck, Nelson, Nketiah, Willock. Watford: Karnezis, Janmaat, Prodl, Mariappa, Holebas, Doucoure, Capoue, Femenia, Pereyra, Richarlison, Deeney. Subs: Britos, Sinclair, Gray, Hughes, Carrillo, Okaka, Bachmann. Referee: Martin Atkinson (W Yorkshire) 1:05PM Interesting from Arsene on hate Arsene Wenger has revealed the physical and emotional torment he has suffered in recent weeks as Arsenal have produced their worst run of form in more than 15 years. The Arsenal manager admitted that the club’s recent struggles had left him in “disastrous shape” and struggling to sleep as his side fell to four consecutive defeats for the first time since 2002. He also revealed that he has received messages of support from the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson, the former Manchester United manager. “It is not the person they hate,” Wenger said of the supporters who have called for him to be replaced. “They hate the manager who does not deliver the performance. I can make that difference. Arsene Wenger admits to feeling the strain of Arsenal's losing run 12:45PM Kick off is at 1.30 Arsenal surely cannot afford another slip up, can they? Morale somewhat restored after that European result midweek, but team spirit is hanging by a thread. 12:44PM Here be Hornets �� | #watfordfc line-up v @Arsenal | Karnezis (GK); Femenía, Prödl, Mariappa, Holebas; Doucouré, Capoue; Janmaat, Pereyra, Richarlison; Deeney (C). Subs | Bachmann (GK), Britos, Hughes, Carrillo, Sinclair, Gray, Okaka.#ARSWATpic.twitter.com/bjglz70Lz9— Watford Football Club (@WatfordFC) March 11, 2018 12:43PM Here is the Arsenal team �� Our starting XI for this afternoon's game against @WatfordFC#AFCvWFCpic.twitter.com/ZSlSF0NCGX— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) March 11, 2018 12:29PM Match preview Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker has revealed how the burden of needing to perform on a match day brings him close to throwing up. The World Cup winner is set to take his first steps into management when he begins a role as Arsenal's new academy manager from the start of the 2018/19 campaign. Mertesacker has, however, continued to be part of Arsene Wenger's first-team squad, but last featured in the third-round FA Cup defeat at Nottingham Forest in January. The 33-year-old gave a wide-ranging interview with German weekly news magazine Der Spiegel, in which he addressed the issues he tackled on the pitch as well as looking ahead to the next chapter of his career. "Some days you realise that everything is a burden, both physically and mentally... but you have to deliver without a doubt, even if you are injured," former Germany international Mertesacker said. "In the moments before a game starts, my stomach turns around as if I had to vomit. Then I have to choke so violently until my eyes water." Mertesacker has revealed the pressure that builds before a match Credit: Getty Images Despite his difficulties, Mertesacker - who also won the FA Cup three times with Arsenal and captained the team, becoming a cult figure with fans - has no regrets. "Even if I had to vomit before every game and go to rehab 20 times, I would do it all over again. It was worth it for all of the memories," he said. Mertesacker's decision to retire has been brought on in part by a long-standing knee problem. "My body is finished," the German told Der Spiegel. "Everyone says I should enjoy the last year, to play as much as possible and take everything in, (but) I would rather sit on the bench or - even better - in the stands, and then, for the first time in my life, aged more than 30, I will feel free."

It received the biggest cheer of the afternoon but did not come when any of Arsenal’s three goals were scored or even as the final whistle was blown and a run of three successive Premier League defeats had been arrested. Instead it came at the pivotal incident when Troy Deeney had to show the ‘cojones’, the mental strength he had said Arsenal lacked after the last meeting between these two sides in October when he came on as a substitute to turn the game around. Deeney scored from the penalty spot then and he was presented with the chance, immediately after Arsenal had gone into a 2-0 lead, to do so again here. There was more than 30 minutes still to play and Arsenal had been wobbling when Deeney had the golden opportunity to get his team back into it. But the striker’s kick was far too straight and Petr Cech diverted it away with an outstretched arm. It was the first time, at the 16th attempt, that Cech had saved a penalty in Arsenal colours and it also helped him – finally – to collect a 200th clean sheet in the Premier League. The 35-year-old therefore became the first goalkeeper to reach that mark having been stuck on 199 since mid-December. Asked whether Deeney’s comments had fired up his players, Arsene Wenger acknowledged it had been a factor. “You know you cannot be a footballer without pride,” he said. There has been a lot of wounded pride at Arsenal this season. “You cannot be in this sport without pride. All these things count always a little bit. For how much I don’t know. But of course it plays a part.” Shkodran Mustafi scores Arsenal's first goal Credit: REUTERS How the Arsenal fans also delighted in Deeney’s failure; or at least those who turned up. Anger has turned to apathy at the Emirates and there were thousands of empty seats as this game unfolded and that will be of concern to the club. Officially, there were 59,131 seats ‘sold’ but a lot were unoccupied. Many, many fans voted with their feet and this was not in anticipation of a defeat against Manchester City on a freezing cold night, as with their previous home game, but for a fixture against mid-table Watford on a Sunday lunchtime. “Your ground’s too big for you,” taunted the Watford supporters early on. For Wenger there was, nevertheless, obvious relief at this result even if it was also evident that he is now prioritising the Europa League as he made six changes from the side that gained a 2-0 lead away to AC Milan in the first leg of Arsenal’s last-16 tie. They face the same opponents at the Emirates on Thursday and Wenger knows that with the chance of finishing in the top four gone his only hope of Champions League qualification, and maybe saving his job, is to win the Europa League. It is a gamble. And despite the emphatic scoreline so was this game; a game in which Cech was Arsenal’s man-of-the-match and, once more, they looked vulnerable each time their opponents attacked them which was made all the more alarming considering the early grip they had taken. In fact Arsenal could have scored even before they did in the eighth minute. Already Watford goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis had saved well from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, diverting his shot for a corner with his leg when the striker was slipped through by Mesut Ozil, before he was beaten. Ozil’s free-kick was met by Shkodran Mustafi who guided his header back across goal after inexplicably being left unmarked by Adrian Mariappa and Jose Holebas. It marked the 1,000 goal Arsenal had scored in the Premier League at home with only Manchester United having reached that mark quicker. But thousands missed the 3-0 win with fans staying away Credit: Getty Images At that point it felt like it would be a long afternoon for Watford but they soon began to rack up chances. Firstly Richarlison was put clear by Roberto Pereyra with a long ball but he checked, rather than shot, with the opportunity opening up for the onrushing Abdoulaye Doucoure whose low drive was smartly blocked by Cech. Then Watford should have levelled when Richarlison’s free-kick was pushed out by a scrambling Cech only for Pereyra to blast the rebound over when he surely had to score or pass to the unmarked Mariappa. Immediately Arsenal countered and appeared set to double their advantage with Ozil nudging the ball past Mariappa to put himself through on goal only for Karnezis to save his side-footed shot with his legs. On half-time a cross by Kiko Femenia was met by Richarlison and his near post header was pushed away by Cech. Arsenal were sloppy, careless and Watford will have felt they did not deserve to be behind. But, instead, they conceded again when Henrikh Mkhitaryan ran through the middle and slipped a pass to Aubameyang. Karnezis rushed out but stopped, realising he was not going to get there with Aubameyang rounding him before clipping the ball into the empty net. Cech saves Deeney's penalty Credit: Getty Images Europe Soon after, Watford were awarded their penalty as Pereyra dribbled into the area and was caught by Ainsley Maitland-Niles' outstretched trailing leg. Deeney missed and Watford soon lost heart as Ozil ran free down the left and crossed low. The ball was pushed out by Karnezis but only to Aubameyang who turned and passed to Mkhitaryan. The Armenian side-footed home to end any lingering doubt. “Deeney, Deeney, what’s the score?” taunted the Arsenal fans while Hector Bellerin – who had conceded the penalty when Arsenal lost to Watford last autumn – trolled Deeney by tweeting: “Looks like you couldn’t see today either.” Deeney will take that on the chin. And hopefully it will not prove to be false bravado for the rest of Arsenal's campaign. 3:23PM Full time: Arsenal 3 Watford 0 Not flawless from Arsenal, but they'll absolutely take this. Probably the key moment was the penalty save at 2-0. Had Troy Deeney put that away, it would have been 2-1, and with this fragile Arsenal side, you never know. But as it turned out, a handy win for Arsenal. Ten out of ten home wins for teams below them for Arsenal this season. Thanks for following it with us. I myself am dashing to blog Bournemouth v Tottenham, the Redknapp derby, and so I will bid you good day. Match report will be up directly. 3:18PM 90 mins From a freekick, the ball drops kindly for a Watford player but, unkindly, the player to whom it drops is Prodl. Row ZZ. 3:17PM 87 mins Xhaka yells at Referee Atkinson, who books him for being a total pranny dissent. Xhaka still goes back for more. 3:14PM 85 mins Arsenal looking classy now, they're opening up Watford at will. Wilshere slips it to Welbeck, he cracks the ball at goal. Parried out. Watford have had enough, I'd say. 3:11PM Some front Troy Deeney set to break the Premier Leaue record for fronting up - currently held jointly by John Terry and Joe Hart - after this game— Adam Hurrey (@FootballCliches) March 11, 2018 3:10PM 80 mins Miguel Britos replaces Daryl Janmaat and that'll be the final change for either side. 3:07PM 78 mins Mkhitaryan taken off immediately. Jack Wilshere the man who comes on. Sore one for Xhaka as Deeney stands on the back of his calf. 3:06PM GOAL! Mkhitaryan! Arsenal 3 Watford 0 Ozil down the left, he plays the ball to Aubameyang. He shows good composure and vision to find his former Dortmund colleague a few yards further inside. Mkhitaryan hits it. Goalie should have done A LOT better there. Goal. These two love playing together - @Aubameyang7 lays it off this time and @HenrikhMkh fires home#AFCvWFC 3-0 (77) pic.twitter.com/bKurN2B84i— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) March 11, 2018 3:01PM 72 mins Richarlison does well to get to the byline, Mustafi gets it clear. His reward for that piece of defending is to be subbed off for a nice sit down. Chambers is the man to replace him. 2:58PM 70 mins Watford look like they have run their race. 2:57PM 67 mins Pereyra off for Okaka. Dat Guy Welbz is on for Iwobbly. 2:56PM What a balloon Simone Zaza trying to headbutt someone’s arm to get a free kick is the funniest thing I’ve seen today. pic.twitter.com/nBwUKeOLrV— Dan Critchlow (@afcDW) March 10, 2018 2:53PM 65 mins Now Holebas tacks a turn to clatter Mkhitaryan. Yeller. 2:52PM 63 mins Arsenal should have a penalty of their own. Mkhitaryan into the box on the right and he gets his pass away a split second before Mariappa absolutely cleans him out. Mariappa is lucky that Mkhitaryan had already got rid of the ball because otherwise that was a pen all day. Femenía off for Hughes. 2:48PM 60 mins Just as I was going to say that Arsenal can relax a bit, Pereyra has been awarded a penalty as Maitland-Niles clumsily blocks him off. Troy Deeney steps up to take the penalty, he wallops it down the middle. Cech dives to his right but gets his hand up, he's blocked it, and the Arsenal fans, who have beef with TD, absolutely love it. Some of them even cheer. Deeney penalty saved 2:47PM GOAL! Arsenal 2 Watford 0 (Aubameyang) Mkhitaryan has not done a lot, but he's picked the ball up here and driven forward. Times his through ball perfectly, Aubameyang is onto it, round the keeper and slots it away. Against the run of play, but Arsenal won't care about that. 2:44PM 55 mins Oof. Watford with an excellent ball in, narrowly wide. Arsenal clinging on. 2:43PM 54 mins Mustafi has a yellow card to accompany his goal as he poleaxes Richarlison. 2:40PM 50 mins Capoue has overpowered Mkhitaryan. "He's had a poor game, lost the ball too often," says A Smith. "You'd have hoped that the goal against Milan might encourage him to kick on, but..." 2:37PM 47 mins Femenia crunches a volley, it hits Holding and pings out for a corner. Arsenal's defending of the dead ball is less than assured. 2:35PM Blanky Wrighty needs blanky Credit: Sky 2:34PM 46 mins Iwobi, back to goal, does well to tee up Xhaka. Creamed at goal, and the Watford goalie needs two attempts to stop it. Parries, then gathers. 2:32PM Players are back out Cech looks way intense. Maybe it's the hunt for that 200th clean sheet? Anyway. No subs. Arsenal to kick off. 2:29PM Nice work from Opta 50 - Mesut Özil has become the fastest player to reach 50 Premier League assists, doing so in just 141 games and breaking the record previously held by Eric Cantona (143 games). Magic. pic.twitter.com/yMZquraDd3— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 11, 2018 2:20PM Half time: Arsenal 1 Watford 0 Arsenal bossed that for half an hour but were clinging on as the half drew to a close. No reason at all for Watford to despair. I fancy them for a goal. 2:19PM 45 mins More stress for Arsenal. Richarlison! Good effort from a cross, Cech tips it behind. Now tey have to deal with a corner, the ball flashes through the area, and mercifully for Arsenal the ref brings this half to a close with the hosts on the ropes. Watford might have hoped for another couple of minutes added there, there were only two.... 2:15PM 44 mins Cech has the ball. Pereyra is all up in his grille. Cech attempts to throw the ball and there is a heart-stopping moment for him as he manages to get only a yard on the throw! OMG. Hacked clear. 2:13PM 42 mins If Femenía were two-footed, he would have had a glorious chance. But he is not. Really good spell for the Hornets, Arsenal look defensively incompetent, nervous, and lacking in spirit. Which they are. 2:12PM 41 mins Nicely worked freekick, El Neny regresses to the mean by nodding off and letting his man go past him. At the back stick, Femenía has an effort, Holding with the half block. It's onto the roof of the net. 2:11PM 39 mins Good couple of minutes from Holebas, some good battling and not a decent ball into the box. Any mention of him always has me humming Watford are at it now. Mkhitaryan has given the ball away to increase the pressure. Now Hollaback wins a corner. 2:07PM 35 mins Sound the town bell, Arsenal are actually fighting for the ball. First Henrik M and now Aubameyang win physical duels. 2:05PM 34 mins Arsenal enjoying a nice spell on the ball, looking a cut above Watford right now. Troy Deeney equaliser incoming in 7 minutes, then. 2:01PM 30 mins Ozil, who has been bossing this, gets the back of his ankle trodden on by that man Prodl. Sore one. Goes down. Arsenal relieved to see him get back to his feet. 1:59PM 27 mins Really should have been the equaliser there, or at the bare minimum hit the target. Arsenal nearly exact swift, full revenge when they go up the other end. El Neny slips the ball to Ozil, who glides into the area and tries to dink it, but Watford's keeper Karnezis manages to get his trailing leg on it. Narrow squeak. 1:57PM 26 mins It's a good freekick from Richarlison, Cech gets down to the low ball and parries it... right back into the danger area. It's on a plate for Pereyra but he has made a real pig's ear of the chance. 1:56PM 25 mins Xhaka has given away a bit of a soft freekick, handy position. Didn't really need to make the tackle, his man was going nowhere. 1:54PM 23 mins Ozil plays the ball with his shoulder! 1:53PM 22 mins Prodl is putting himself about, I wouldn't be surprised to see a booking for him, he's made some heavy metal tackles and God knows he only has to mistime it by a fraction. 1:48PM 18 mins Good move! El Nenny opens up the defence, Kolasinac with a nice hard low cross, and Aubameyang slides in to guide the ball... just wide. Defence splitting pass by *checks notes...checks notes again*...Mohamed Elneny?— Nick Miller (@NickMiller79) March 11, 2018 1:47PM Thousands of em Mustafi scores what the stadium announcer describes as "Arsenal's 1000th Premier League goal", which I can confirm is definitely not a thing.— Jonathan Liew (@jonathanliew) March 11, 2018 1:45PM 15 mins A stop-start few minutes as first we need to stop the game as Shkodran Mustafi gets a bit of treatment. And now Elneny has accidentally given Richarlison a whack in the puss and he needs looked at as well. 1:43PM 10 mins Arsenal have a chance to break here, Mkhitaryan plays it in behind for Aubameyang. Prodl manages to muscle the Arsenal striker off the ball, and in fact does that with some ease. 1:40PM 8 mins The goal appears to have woken Watford up, they make a decent attack that wins a corner. 1:39PM GOAL! Mustafi! Arsenal! Watford have been undone with the simplest of freekicks. Ozil about 30 yards out on the left, decent delivery, and Mustafi has got up nicely in between the centre halves to nod it in. Pretty wet from Watford, who have not been at the races and have suffered the indignity of being overpowered in the air by Arsenal. 1:36PM 5 mins Richarlison, one of my favourites, gallops down that left flank and drills a shot that won't be causing Cech any sleepless nights. 1:35PM 4 mins There's no hostility from the Arsenal fans this afternoon, they are not on the team's back. That result against Milan was very welcome. It has been a bright start from the hosts, Mkhitaryan among those getting on the ball and asking some questions. 1:33PM 2 mins Decent from Arsenal. This is nice play from Ozil, slipped forward for Aubameyang who races forward onto the ball, he hits it nicely but straight at the keeper who nevertheless earns his money because that was really travelling. Corner cleared no dramas. 1:30PM 1 mins Watford kick off. "Plenty of empty seats," winces Alan Smith on the telly. 1:29PM Very much so indeed Motty Today’s match will be this mans last ever live commentary. What an incredible 50 year career. A truly brilliant broadcaster. pic.twitter.com/DvdXfINfOP— James Corden (@JKCorden) March 11, 2018 1:29PM Watford side Credit: Sky Sports Premier League 1:28PM Arsenal side Credit: Sky Sports Premier League 1:27PM Sherwood is having a super Sunday! "Cech looks well up for this. He's normally a calming presence, he looks like is ready to go out there and chin somebody!" Credit: Getty Images 1:25PM Bloody nora This is terrible! Burnley substitutes let kids onto the bench to escape fighting in stands #WHUBURpic.twitter.com/VVaVNoxICj— Johnny Phillips (@SkyJohnnyP) March 10, 2018 1:22PM Tim Sherwood with some good punditry "Doucouré is better than anything Arsenal have in midfield. He gets up and down, he can hit them off both feet, he's got an eye for goal. He is a typical complete Premier League player. "Managers come into Watford knowing they have no say in the recruitment, but the recruitment is done well. Players know that they come into Watford, do well, and it is a stepping stone. The club realise that too, they are a selling club, and it is all about staying in the PL. And they have are staying up each season quite easily." Pretty good summary of Watford's situation and philosophy, no? 1:19PM It's the Premier League's newest coach versus its most long-standing. 1:06PM Those teams again Arsenal: Cech, Maitland-Niles, Mustafi, Holding, Kolasinac, Elneny, Xhaka, Mkhitaryan, Ozil, Iwobi, Aubameyang. Subs: Wilshere, Ospina, Chambers, Welbeck, Nelson, Nketiah, Willock. Watford: Karnezis, Janmaat, Prodl, Mariappa, Holebas, Doucoure, Capoue, Femenia, Pereyra, Richarlison, Deeney. Subs: Britos, Sinclair, Gray, Hughes, Carrillo, Okaka, Bachmann. Referee: Martin Atkinson (W Yorkshire) 1:05PM Interesting from Arsene on hate Arsene Wenger has revealed the physical and emotional torment he has suffered in recent weeks as Arsenal have produced their worst run of form in more than 15 years. The Arsenal manager admitted that the club’s recent struggles had left him in “disastrous shape” and struggling to sleep as his side fell to four consecutive defeats for the first time since 2002. He also revealed that he has received messages of support from the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson, the former Manchester United manager. “It is not the person they hate,” Wenger said of the supporters who have called for him to be replaced. “They hate the manager who does not deliver the performance. I can make that difference. Arsene Wenger admits to feeling the strain of Arsenal's losing run 12:45PM Kick off is at 1.30 Arsenal surely cannot afford another slip up, can they? Morale somewhat restored after that European result midweek, but team spirit is hanging by a thread. 12:44PM Here be Hornets �� | #watfordfc line-up v @Arsenal | Karnezis (GK); Femenía, Prödl, Mariappa, Holebas; Doucouré, Capoue; Janmaat, Pereyra, Richarlison; Deeney (C). Subs | Bachmann (GK), Britos, Hughes, Carrillo, Sinclair, Gray, Okaka.#ARSWATpic.twitter.com/bjglz70Lz9— Watford Football Club (@WatfordFC) March 11, 2018 12:43PM Here is the Arsenal team �� Our starting XI for this afternoon's game against @WatfordFC#AFCvWFCpic.twitter.com/ZSlSF0NCGX— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) March 11, 2018 12:29PM Match preview Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker has revealed how the burden of needing to perform on a match day brings him close to throwing up. The World Cup winner is set to take his first steps into management when he begins a role as Arsenal's new academy manager from the start of the 2018/19 campaign. Mertesacker has, however, continued to be part of Arsene Wenger's first-team squad, but last featured in the third-round FA Cup defeat at Nottingham Forest in January. The 33-year-old gave a wide-ranging interview with German weekly news magazine Der Spiegel, in which he addressed the issues he tackled on the pitch as well as looking ahead to the next chapter of his career. "Some days you realise that everything is a burden, both physically and mentally... but you have to deliver without a doubt, even if you are injured," former Germany international Mertesacker said. "In the moments before a game starts, my stomach turns around as if I had to vomit. Then I have to choke so violently until my eyes water." Mertesacker has revealed the pressure that builds before a match Credit: Getty Images Despite his difficulties, Mertesacker - who also won the FA Cup three times with Arsenal and captained the team, becoming a cult figure with fans - has no regrets. "Even if I had to vomit before every game and go to rehab 20 times, I would do it all over again. It was worth it for all of the memories," he said. Mertesacker's decision to retire has been brought on in part by a long-standing knee problem. "My body is finished," the German told Der Spiegel. "Everyone says I should enjoy the last year, to play as much as possible and take everything in, (but) I would rather sit on the bench or - even better - in the stands, and then, for the first time in my life, aged more than 30, I will feel free."

It received the biggest cheer of the afternoon but did not come when any of Arsenal’s three goals were scored or even as the final whistle was blown and a run of three successive Premier League defeats had been arrested. Instead it came at the pivotal incident when Troy Deeney had to show the ‘cojones’, the mental strength he had said Arsenal lacked after the last meeting between these two sides in October when he came on as a substitute to turn the game around. Deeney scored from the penalty spot then and he was presented with the chance, immediately after Arsenal had gone into a 2-0 lead, to do so again here. There was more than 30 minutes still to play and Arsenal had been wobbling when Deeney had the golden opportunity to get his team back into it. But the striker’s kick was far too straight and Petr Cech diverted it away with an outstretched arm. It was the first time, at the 16th attempt, that Cech had saved a penalty in Arsenal colours and it also helped him – finally – to collect a 200th clean sheet in the Premier League. The 35-year-old therefore became the first goalkeeper to reach that mark having been stuck on 199 since mid-December. Asked whether Deeney’s comments had fired up his players, Arsene Wenger acknowledged it had been a factor. “You know you cannot be a footballer without pride,” he said. There has been a lot of wounded pride at Arsenal this season. “You cannot be in this sport without pride. All these things count always a little bit. For how much I don’t know. But of course it plays a part.” Shkodran Mustafi scores Arsenal's first goal Credit: REUTERS How the Arsenal fans also delighted in Deeney’s failure; or at least those who turned up. Anger has turned to apathy at the Emirates and there were thousands of empty seats as this game unfolded and that will be of concern to the club. Officially, there were 59,131 seats ‘sold’ but a lot were unoccupied. Many, many fans voted with their feet and this was not in anticipation of a defeat against Manchester City on a freezing cold night, as with their previous home game, but for a fixture against mid-table Watford on a Sunday lunchtime. “Your ground’s too big for you,” taunted the Watford supporters early on. For Wenger there was, nevertheless, obvious relief at this result even if it was also evident that he is now prioritising the Europa League as he made six changes from the side that gained a 2-0 lead away to AC Milan in the first leg of Arsenal’s last-16 tie. They face the same opponents at the Emirates on Thursday and Wenger knows that with the chance of finishing in the top four gone his only hope of Champions League qualification, and maybe saving his job, is to win the Europa League. It is a gamble. And despite the emphatic scoreline so was this game; a game in which Cech was Arsenal’s man-of-the-match and, once more, they looked vulnerable each time their opponents attacked them which was made all the more alarming considering the early grip they had taken. In fact Arsenal could have scored even before they did in the eighth minute. Already Watford goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis had saved well from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, diverting his shot for a corner with his leg when the striker was slipped through by Mesut Ozil, before he was beaten. Ozil’s free-kick was met by Shkodran Mustafi who guided his header back across goal after inexplicably being left unmarked by Adrian Mariappa and Jose Holebas. It marked the 1,000 goal Arsenal had scored in the Premier League at home with only Manchester United having reached that mark quicker. But thousands missed the 3-0 win with fans staying away Credit: Getty Images At that point it felt like it would be a long afternoon for Watford but they soon began to rack up chances. Firstly Richarlison was put clear by Roberto Pereyra with a long ball but he checked, rather than shot, with the opportunity opening up for the onrushing Abdoulaye Doucoure whose low drive was smartly blocked by Cech. Then Watford should have levelled when Richarlison’s free-kick was pushed out by a scrambling Cech only for Pereyra to blast the rebound over when he surely had to score or pass to the unmarked Mariappa. Immediately Arsenal countered and appeared set to double their advantage with Ozil nudging the ball past Mariappa to put himself through on goal only for Karnezis to save his side-footed shot with his legs. On half-time a cross by Kiko Femenia was met by Richarlison and his near post header was pushed away by Cech. Arsenal were sloppy, careless and Watford will have felt they did not deserve to be behind. But, instead, they conceded again when Henrikh Mkhitaryan ran through the middle and slipped a pass to Aubameyang. Karnezis rushed out but stopped, realising he was not going to get there with Aubameyang rounding him before clipping the ball into the empty net. Cech saves Deeney's penalty Credit: Getty Images Europe Soon after, Watford were awarded their penalty as Pereyra dribbled into the area and was caught by Ainsley Maitland-Niles' outstretched trailing leg. Deeney missed and Watford soon lost heart as Ozil ran free down the left and crossed low. The ball was pushed out by Karnezis but only to Aubameyang who turned and passed to Mkhitaryan. The Armenian side-footed home to end any lingering doubt. “Deeney, Deeney, what’s the score?” taunted the Arsenal fans while Hector Bellerin – who had conceded the penalty when Arsenal lost to Watford last autumn – trolled Deeney by tweeting: “Looks like you couldn’t see today either.” Deeney will take that on the chin. And hopefully it will not prove to be false bravado for the rest of Arsenal's campaign. 3:23PM Full time: Arsenal 3 Watford 0 Not flawless from Arsenal, but they'll absolutely take this. Probably the key moment was the penalty save at 2-0. Had Troy Deeney put that away, it would have been 2-1, and with this fragile Arsenal side, you never know. But as it turned out, a handy win for Arsenal. Ten out of ten home wins for teams below them for Arsenal this season. Thanks for following it with us. I myself am dashing to blog Bournemouth v Tottenham, the Redknapp derby, and so I will bid you good day. Match report will be up directly. 3:18PM 90 mins From a freekick, the ball drops kindly for a Watford player but, unkindly, the player to whom it drops is Prodl. Row ZZ. 3:17PM 87 mins Xhaka yells at Referee Atkinson, who books him for being a total pranny dissent. Xhaka still goes back for more. 3:14PM 85 mins Arsenal looking classy now, they're opening up Watford at will. Wilshere slips it to Welbeck, he cracks the ball at goal. Parried out. Watford have had enough, I'd say. 3:11PM Some front Troy Deeney set to break the Premier Leaue record for fronting up - currently held jointly by John Terry and Joe Hart - after this game— Adam Hurrey (@FootballCliches) March 11, 2018 3:10PM 80 mins Miguel Britos replaces Daryl Janmaat and that'll be the final change for either side. 3:07PM 78 mins Mkhitaryan taken off immediately. Jack Wilshere the man who comes on. Sore one for Xhaka as Deeney stands on the back of his calf. 3:06PM GOAL! Mkhitaryan! Arsenal 3 Watford 0 Ozil down the left, he plays the ball to Aubameyang. He shows good composure and vision to find his former Dortmund colleague a few yards further inside. Mkhitaryan hits it. Goalie should have done A LOT better there. Goal. These two love playing together - @Aubameyang7 lays it off this time and @HenrikhMkh fires home#AFCvWFC 3-0 (77) pic.twitter.com/bKurN2B84i— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) March 11, 2018 3:01PM 72 mins Richarlison does well to get to the byline, Mustafi gets it clear. His reward for that piece of defending is to be subbed off for a nice sit down. Chambers is the man to replace him. 2:58PM 70 mins Watford look like they have run their race. 2:57PM 67 mins Pereyra off for Okaka. Dat Guy Welbz is on for Iwobbly. 2:56PM What a balloon Simone Zaza trying to headbutt someone’s arm to get a free kick is the funniest thing I’ve seen today. pic.twitter.com/nBwUKeOLrV— Dan Critchlow (@afcDW) March 10, 2018 2:53PM 65 mins Now Holebas tacks a turn to clatter Mkhitaryan. Yeller. 2:52PM 63 mins Arsenal should have a penalty of their own. Mkhitaryan into the box on the right and he gets his pass away a split second before Mariappa absolutely cleans him out. Mariappa is lucky that Mkhitaryan had already got rid of the ball because otherwise that was a pen all day. Femenía off for Hughes. 2:48PM 60 mins Just as I was going to say that Arsenal can relax a bit, Pereyra has been awarded a penalty as Maitland-Niles clumsily blocks him off. Troy Deeney steps up to take the penalty, he wallops it down the middle. Cech dives to his right but gets his hand up, he's blocked it, and the Arsenal fans, who have beef with TD, absolutely love it. Some of them even cheer. Deeney penalty saved 2:47PM GOAL! Arsenal 2 Watford 0 (Aubameyang) Mkhitaryan has not done a lot, but he's picked the ball up here and driven forward. Times his through ball perfectly, Aubameyang is onto it, round the keeper and slots it away. Against the run of play, but Arsenal won't care about that. 2:44PM 55 mins Oof. Watford with an excellent ball in, narrowly wide. Arsenal clinging on. 2:43PM 54 mins Mustafi has a yellow card to accompany his goal as he poleaxes Richarlison. 2:40PM 50 mins Capoue has overpowered Mkhitaryan. "He's had a poor game, lost the ball too often," says A Smith. "You'd have hoped that the goal against Milan might encourage him to kick on, but..." 2:37PM 47 mins Femenia crunches a volley, it hits Holding and pings out for a corner. Arsenal's defending of the dead ball is less than assured. 2:35PM Blanky Wrighty needs blanky Credit: Sky 2:34PM 46 mins Iwobi, back to goal, does well to tee up Xhaka. Creamed at goal, and the Watford goalie needs two attempts to stop it. Parries, then gathers. 2:32PM Players are back out Cech looks way intense. Maybe it's the hunt for that 200th clean sheet? Anyway. No subs. Arsenal to kick off. 2:29PM Nice work from Opta 50 - Mesut Özil has become the fastest player to reach 50 Premier League assists, doing so in just 141 games and breaking the record previously held by Eric Cantona (143 games). Magic. pic.twitter.com/yMZquraDd3— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 11, 2018 2:20PM Half time: Arsenal 1 Watford 0 Arsenal bossed that for half an hour but were clinging on as the half drew to a close. No reason at all for Watford to despair. I fancy them for a goal. 2:19PM 45 mins More stress for Arsenal. Richarlison! Good effort from a cross, Cech tips it behind. Now tey have to deal with a corner, the ball flashes through the area, and mercifully for Arsenal the ref brings this half to a close with the hosts on the ropes. Watford might have hoped for another couple of minutes added there, there were only two.... 2:15PM 44 mins Cech has the ball. Pereyra is all up in his grille. Cech attempts to throw the ball and there is a heart-stopping moment for him as he manages to get only a yard on the throw! OMG. Hacked clear. 2:13PM 42 mins If Femenía were two-footed, he would have had a glorious chance. But he is not. Really good spell for the Hornets, Arsenal look defensively incompetent, nervous, and lacking in spirit. Which they are. 2:12PM 41 mins Nicely worked freekick, El Neny regresses to the mean by nodding off and letting his man go past him. At the back stick, Femenía has an effort, Holding with the half block. It's onto the roof of the net. 2:11PM 39 mins Good couple of minutes from Holebas, some good battling and not a decent ball into the box. Any mention of him always has me humming Watford are at it now. Mkhitaryan has given the ball away to increase the pressure. Now Hollaback wins a corner. 2:07PM 35 mins Sound the town bell, Arsenal are actually fighting for the ball. First Henrik M and now Aubameyang win physical duels. 2:05PM 34 mins Arsenal enjoying a nice spell on the ball, looking a cut above Watford right now. Troy Deeney equaliser incoming in 7 minutes, then. 2:01PM 30 mins Ozil, who has been bossing this, gets the back of his ankle trodden on by that man Prodl. Sore one. Goes down. Arsenal relieved to see him get back to his feet. 1:59PM 27 mins Really should have been the equaliser there, or at the bare minimum hit the target. Arsenal nearly exact swift, full revenge when they go up the other end. El Neny slips the ball to Ozil, who glides into the area and tries to dink it, but Watford's keeper Karnezis manages to get his trailing leg on it. Narrow squeak. 1:57PM 26 mins It's a good freekick from Richarlison, Cech gets down to the low ball and parries it... right back into the danger area. It's on a plate for Pereyra but he has made a real pig's ear of the chance. 1:56PM 25 mins Xhaka has given away a bit of a soft freekick, handy position. Didn't really need to make the tackle, his man was going nowhere. 1:54PM 23 mins Ozil plays the ball with his shoulder! 1:53PM 22 mins Prodl is putting himself about, I wouldn't be surprised to see a booking for him, he's made some heavy metal tackles and God knows he only has to mistime it by a fraction. 1:48PM 18 mins Good move! El Nenny opens up the defence, Kolasinac with a nice hard low cross, and Aubameyang slides in to guide the ball... just wide. Defence splitting pass by *checks notes...checks notes again*...Mohamed Elneny?— Nick Miller (@NickMiller79) March 11, 2018 1:47PM Thousands of em Mustafi scores what the stadium announcer describes as "Arsenal's 1000th Premier League goal", which I can confirm is definitely not a thing.— Jonathan Liew (@jonathanliew) March 11, 2018 1:45PM 15 mins A stop-start few minutes as first we need to stop the game as Shkodran Mustafi gets a bit of treatment. And now Elneny has accidentally given Richarlison a whack in the puss and he needs looked at as well. 1:43PM 10 mins Arsenal have a chance to break here, Mkhitaryan plays it in behind for Aubameyang. Prodl manages to muscle the Arsenal striker off the ball, and in fact does that with some ease. 1:40PM 8 mins The goal appears to have woken Watford up, they make a decent attack that wins a corner. 1:39PM GOAL! Mustafi! Arsenal! Watford have been undone with the simplest of freekicks. Ozil about 30 yards out on the left, decent delivery, and Mustafi has got up nicely in between the centre halves to nod it in. Pretty wet from Watford, who have not been at the races and have suffered the indignity of being overpowered in the air by Arsenal. 1:36PM 5 mins Richarlison, one of my favourites, gallops down that left flank and drills a shot that won't be causing Cech any sleepless nights. 1:35PM 4 mins There's no hostility from the Arsenal fans this afternoon, they are not on the team's back. That result against Milan was very welcome. It has been a bright start from the hosts, Mkhitaryan among those getting on the ball and asking some questions. 1:33PM 2 mins Decent from Arsenal. This is nice play from Ozil, slipped forward for Aubameyang who races forward onto the ball, he hits it nicely but straight at the keeper who nevertheless earns his money because that was really travelling. Corner cleared no dramas. 1:30PM 1 mins Watford kick off. "Plenty of empty seats," winces Alan Smith on the telly. 1:29PM Very much so indeed Motty Today’s match will be this mans last ever live commentary. What an incredible 50 year career. A truly brilliant broadcaster. pic.twitter.com/DvdXfINfOP— James Corden (@JKCorden) March 11, 2018 1:29PM Watford side Credit: Sky Sports Premier League 1:28PM Arsenal side Credit: Sky Sports Premier League 1:27PM Sherwood is having a super Sunday! "Cech looks well up for this. He's normally a calming presence, he looks like is ready to go out there and chin somebody!" Credit: Getty Images 1:25PM Bloody nora This is terrible! Burnley substitutes let kids onto the bench to escape fighting in stands #WHUBURpic.twitter.com/VVaVNoxICj— Johnny Phillips (@SkyJohnnyP) March 10, 2018 1:22PM Tim Sherwood with some good punditry "Doucouré is better than anything Arsenal have in midfield. He gets up and down, he can hit them off both feet, he's got an eye for goal. He is a typical complete Premier League player. "Managers come into Watford knowing they have no say in the recruitment, but the recruitment is done well. Players know that they come into Watford, do well, and it is a stepping stone. The club realise that too, they are a selling club, and it is all about staying in the PL. And they have are staying up each season quite easily." Pretty good summary of Watford's situation and philosophy, no? 1:19PM It's the Premier League's newest coach versus its most long-standing. 1:06PM Those teams again Arsenal: Cech, Maitland-Niles, Mustafi, Holding, Kolasinac, Elneny, Xhaka, Mkhitaryan, Ozil, Iwobi, Aubameyang. Subs: Wilshere, Ospina, Chambers, Welbeck, Nelson, Nketiah, Willock. Watford: Karnezis, Janmaat, Prodl, Mariappa, Holebas, Doucoure, Capoue, Femenia, Pereyra, Richarlison, Deeney. Subs: Britos, Sinclair, Gray, Hughes, Carrillo, Okaka, Bachmann. Referee: Martin Atkinson (W Yorkshire) 1:05PM Interesting from Arsene on hate Arsene Wenger has revealed the physical and emotional torment he has suffered in recent weeks as Arsenal have produced their worst run of form in more than 15 years. The Arsenal manager admitted that the club’s recent struggles had left him in “disastrous shape” and struggling to sleep as his side fell to four consecutive defeats for the first time since 2002. He also revealed that he has received messages of support from the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson, the former Manchester United manager. “It is not the person they hate,” Wenger said of the supporters who have called for him to be replaced. “They hate the manager who does not deliver the performance. I can make that difference. Arsene Wenger admits to feeling the strain of Arsenal's losing run 12:45PM Kick off is at 1.30 Arsenal surely cannot afford another slip up, can they? Morale somewhat restored after that European result midweek, but team spirit is hanging by a thread. 12:44PM Here be Hornets �� | #watfordfc line-up v @Arsenal | Karnezis (GK); Femenía, Prödl, Mariappa, Holebas; Doucouré, Capoue; Janmaat, Pereyra, Richarlison; Deeney (C). Subs | Bachmann (GK), Britos, Hughes, Carrillo, Sinclair, Gray, Okaka.#ARSWATpic.twitter.com/bjglz70Lz9— Watford Football Club (@WatfordFC) March 11, 2018 12:43PM Here is the Arsenal team �� Our starting XI for this afternoon's game against @WatfordFC#AFCvWFCpic.twitter.com/ZSlSF0NCGX— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) March 11, 2018 12:29PM Match preview Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker has revealed how the burden of needing to perform on a match day brings him close to throwing up. The World Cup winner is set to take his first steps into management when he begins a role as Arsenal's new academy manager from the start of the 2018/19 campaign. Mertesacker has, however, continued to be part of Arsene Wenger's first-team squad, but last featured in the third-round FA Cup defeat at Nottingham Forest in January. The 33-year-old gave a wide-ranging interview with German weekly news magazine Der Spiegel, in which he addressed the issues he tackled on the pitch as well as looking ahead to the next chapter of his career. "Some days you realise that everything is a burden, both physically and mentally... but you have to deliver without a doubt, even if you are injured," former Germany international Mertesacker said. "In the moments before a game starts, my stomach turns around as if I had to vomit. Then I have to choke so violently until my eyes water." Mertesacker has revealed the pressure that builds before a match Credit: Getty Images Despite his difficulties, Mertesacker - who also won the FA Cup three times with Arsenal and captained the team, becoming a cult figure with fans - has no regrets. "Even if I had to vomit before every game and go to rehab 20 times, I would do it all over again. It was worth it for all of the memories," he said. Mertesacker's decision to retire has been brought on in part by a long-standing knee problem. "My body is finished," the German told Der Spiegel. "Everyone says I should enjoy the last year, to play as much as possible and take everything in, (but) I would rather sit on the bench or - even better - in the stands, and then, for the first time in my life, aged more than 30, I will feel free."

It received the biggest cheer of the afternoon but did not come when any of Arsenal’s three goals were scored or even as the final whistle was blown and a run of three successive Premier League defeats had been arrested. Instead it came at the pivotal incident when Troy Deeney had to show the ‘cojones’, the mental strength he had said Arsenal lacked after the last meeting between these two sides in October when he came on as a substitute to turn the game around. Deeney scored from the penalty spot then and he was presented with the chance, immediately after Arsenal had gone into a 2-0 lead, to do so again here. There was more than 30 minutes still to play and Arsenal had been wobbling when Deeney had the golden opportunity to get his team back into it. But the striker’s kick was far too straight and Petr Cech diverted it away with an outstretched arm. It was the first time, at the 16th attempt, that Cech had saved a penalty in Arsenal colours and it also helped him – finally – to collect a 200th clean sheet in the Premier League. The 35-year-old therefore became the first goalkeeper to reach that mark having been stuck on 199 since mid-December. Asked whether Deeney’s comments had fired up his players, Arsene Wenger acknowledged it had been a factor. “You know you cannot be a footballer without pride,” he said. There has been a lot of wounded pride at Arsenal this season. “You cannot be in this sport without pride. All these things count always a little bit. For how much I don’t know. But of course it plays a part.” Shkodran Mustafi scores Arsenal's first goal Credit: REUTERS How the Arsenal fans also delighted in Deeney’s failure; or at least those who turned up. Anger has turned to apathy at the Emirates and there were thousands of empty seats as this game unfolded and that will be of concern to the club. Officially, there were 59,131 seats ‘sold’ but a lot were unoccupied. Many, many fans voted with their feet and this was not in anticipation of a defeat against Manchester City on a freezing cold night, as with their previous home game, but for a fixture against mid-table Watford on a Sunday lunchtime. “Your ground’s too big for you,” taunted the Watford supporters early on. For Wenger there was, nevertheless, obvious relief at this result even if it was also evident that he is now prioritising the Europa League as he made six changes from the side that gained a 2-0 lead away to AC Milan in the first leg of Arsenal’s last-16 tie. They face the same opponents at the Emirates on Thursday and Wenger knows that with the chance of finishing in the top four gone his only hope of Champions League qualification, and maybe saving his job, is to win the Europa League. It is a gamble. And despite the emphatic scoreline so was this game; a game in which Cech was Arsenal’s man-of-the-match and, once more, they looked vulnerable each time their opponents attacked them which was made all the more alarming considering the early grip they had taken. In fact Arsenal could have scored even before they did in the eighth minute. Already Watford goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis had saved well from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, diverting his shot for a corner with his leg when the striker was slipped through by Mesut Ozil, before he was beaten. Ozil’s free-kick was met by Shkodran Mustafi who guided his header back across goal after inexplicably being left unmarked by Adrian Mariappa and Jose Holebas. It marked the 1,000 goal Arsenal had scored in the Premier League at home with only Manchester United having reached that mark quicker. But thousands missed the 3-0 win with fans staying away Credit: Getty Images At that point it felt like it would be a long afternoon for Watford but they soon began to rack up chances. Firstly Richarlison was put clear by Roberto Pereyra with a long ball but he checked, rather than shot, with the opportunity opening up for the onrushing Abdoulaye Doucoure whose low drive was smartly blocked by Cech. Then Watford should have levelled when Richarlison’s free-kick was pushed out by a scrambling Cech only for Pereyra to blast the rebound over when he surely had to score or pass to the unmarked Mariappa. Immediately Arsenal countered and appeared set to double their advantage with Ozil nudging the ball past Mariappa to put himself through on goal only for Karnezis to save his side-footed shot with his legs. On half-time a cross by Kiko Femenia was met by Richarlison and his near post header was pushed away by Cech. Arsenal were sloppy, careless and Watford will have felt they did not deserve to be behind. But, instead, they conceded again when Henrikh Mkhitaryan ran through the middle and slipped a pass to Aubameyang. Karnezis rushed out but stopped, realising he was not going to get there with Aubameyang rounding him before clipping the ball into the empty net. Cech saves Deeney's penalty Credit: Getty Images Europe Soon after, Watford were awarded their penalty as Pereyra dribbled into the area and was caught by Ainsley Maitland-Niles' outstretched trailing leg. Deeney missed and Watford soon lost heart as Ozil ran free down the left and crossed low. The ball was pushed out by Karnezis but only to Aubameyang who turned and passed to Mkhitaryan. The Armenian side-footed home to end any lingering doubt. “Deeney, Deeney, what’s the score?” taunted the Arsenal fans while Hector Bellerin – who had conceded the penalty when Arsenal lost to Watford last autumn – trolled Deeney by tweeting: “Looks like you couldn’t see today either.” Deeney will take that on the chin. And hopefully it will not prove to be false bravado for the rest of Arsenal's campaign. 3:23PM Full time: Arsenal 3 Watford 0 Not flawless from Arsenal, but they'll absolutely take this. Probably the key moment was the penalty save at 2-0. Had Troy Deeney put that away, it would have been 2-1, and with this fragile Arsenal side, you never know. But as it turned out, a handy win for Arsenal. Ten out of ten home wins for teams below them for Arsenal this season. Thanks for following it with us. I myself am dashing to blog Bournemouth v Tottenham, the Redknapp derby, and so I will bid you good day. Match report will be up directly. 3:18PM 90 mins From a freekick, the ball drops kindly for a Watford player but, unkindly, the player to whom it drops is Prodl. Row ZZ. 3:17PM 87 mins Xhaka yells at Referee Atkinson, who books him for being a total pranny dissent. Xhaka still goes back for more. 3:14PM 85 mins Arsenal looking classy now, they're opening up Watford at will. Wilshere slips it to Welbeck, he cracks the ball at goal. Parried out. Watford have had enough, I'd say. 3:11PM Some front Troy Deeney set to break the Premier Leaue record for fronting up - currently held jointly by John Terry and Joe Hart - after this game— Adam Hurrey (@FootballCliches) March 11, 2018 3:10PM 80 mins Miguel Britos replaces Daryl Janmaat and that'll be the final change for either side. 3:07PM 78 mins Mkhitaryan taken off immediately. Jack Wilshere the man who comes on. Sore one for Xhaka as Deeney stands on the back of his calf. 3:06PM GOAL! Mkhitaryan! Arsenal 3 Watford 0 Ozil down the left, he plays the ball to Aubameyang. He shows good composure and vision to find his former Dortmund colleague a few yards further inside. Mkhitaryan hits it. Goalie should have done A LOT better there. Goal. These two love playing together - @Aubameyang7 lays it off this time and @HenrikhMkh fires home#AFCvWFC 3-0 (77) pic.twitter.com/bKurN2B84i— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) March 11, 2018 3:01PM 72 mins Richarlison does well to get to the byline, Mustafi gets it clear. His reward for that piece of defending is to be subbed off for a nice sit down. Chambers is the man to replace him. 2:58PM 70 mins Watford look like they have run their race. 2:57PM 67 mins Pereyra off for Okaka. Dat Guy Welbz is on for Iwobbly. 2:56PM What a balloon Simone Zaza trying to headbutt someone’s arm to get a free kick is the funniest thing I’ve seen today. pic.twitter.com/nBwUKeOLrV— Dan Critchlow (@afcDW) March 10, 2018 2:53PM 65 mins Now Holebas tacks a turn to clatter Mkhitaryan. Yeller. 2:52PM 63 mins Arsenal should have a penalty of their own. Mkhitaryan into the box on the right and he gets his pass away a split second before Mariappa absolutely cleans him out. Mariappa is lucky that Mkhitaryan had already got rid of the ball because otherwise that was a pen all day. Femenía off for Hughes. 2:48PM 60 mins Just as I was going to say that Arsenal can relax a bit, Pereyra has been awarded a penalty as Maitland-Niles clumsily blocks him off. Troy Deeney steps up to take the penalty, he wallops it down the middle. Cech dives to his right but gets his hand up, he's blocked it, and the Arsenal fans, who have beef with TD, absolutely love it. Some of them even cheer. Deeney penalty saved 2:47PM GOAL! Arsenal 2 Watford 0 (Aubameyang) Mkhitaryan has not done a lot, but he's picked the ball up here and driven forward. Times his through ball perfectly, Aubameyang is onto it, round the keeper and slots it away. Against the run of play, but Arsenal won't care about that. 2:44PM 55 mins Oof. Watford with an excellent ball in, narrowly wide. Arsenal clinging on. 2:43PM 54 mins Mustafi has a yellow card to accompany his goal as he poleaxes Richarlison. 2:40PM 50 mins Capoue has overpowered Mkhitaryan. "He's had a poor game, lost the ball too often," says A Smith. "You'd have hoped that the goal against Milan might encourage him to kick on, but..." 2:37PM 47 mins Femenia crunches a volley, it hits Holding and pings out for a corner. Arsenal's defending of the dead ball is less than assured. 2:35PM Blanky Wrighty needs blanky Credit: Sky 2:34PM 46 mins Iwobi, back to goal, does well to tee up Xhaka. Creamed at goal, and the Watford goalie needs two attempts to stop it. Parries, then gathers. 2:32PM Players are back out Cech looks way intense. Maybe it's the hunt for that 200th clean sheet? Anyway. No subs. Arsenal to kick off. 2:29PM Nice work from Opta 50 - Mesut Özil has become the fastest player to reach 50 Premier League assists, doing so in just 141 games and breaking the record previously held by Eric Cantona (143 games). Magic. pic.twitter.com/yMZquraDd3— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 11, 2018 2:20PM Half time: Arsenal 1 Watford 0 Arsenal bossed that for half an hour but were clinging on as the half drew to a close. No reason at all for Watford to despair. I fancy them for a goal. 2:19PM 45 mins More stress for Arsenal. Richarlison! Good effort from a cross, Cech tips it behind. Now tey have to deal with a corner, the ball flashes through the area, and mercifully for Arsenal the ref brings this half to a close with the hosts on the ropes. Watford might have hoped for another couple of minutes added there, there were only two.... 2:15PM 44 mins Cech has the ball. Pereyra is all up in his grille. Cech attempts to throw the ball and there is a heart-stopping moment for him as he manages to get only a yard on the throw! OMG. Hacked clear. 2:13PM 42 mins If Femenía were two-footed, he would have had a glorious chance. But he is not. Really good spell for the Hornets, Arsenal look defensively incompetent, nervous, and lacking in spirit. Which they are. 2:12PM 41 mins Nicely worked freekick, El Neny regresses to the mean by nodding off and letting his man go past him. At the back stick, Femenía has an effort, Holding with the half block. It's onto the roof of the net. 2:11PM 39 mins Good couple of minutes from Holebas, some good battling and not a decent ball into the box. Any mention of him always has me humming Watford are at it now. Mkhitaryan has given the ball away to increase the pressure. Now Hollaback wins a corner. 2:07PM 35 mins Sound the town bell, Arsenal are actually fighting for the ball. First Henrik M and now Aubameyang win physical duels. 2:05PM 34 mins Arsenal enjoying a nice spell on the ball, looking a cut above Watford right now. Troy Deeney equaliser incoming in 7 minutes, then. 2:01PM 30 mins Ozil, who has been bossing this, gets the back of his ankle trodden on by that man Prodl. Sore one. Goes down. Arsenal relieved to see him get back to his feet. 1:59PM 27 mins Really should have been the equaliser there, or at the bare minimum hit the target. Arsenal nearly exact swift, full revenge when they go up the other end. El Neny slips the ball to Ozil, who glides into the area and tries to dink it, but Watford's keeper Karnezis manages to get his trailing leg on it. Narrow squeak. 1:57PM 26 mins It's a good freekick from Richarlison, Cech gets down to the low ball and parries it... right back into the danger area. It's on a plate for Pereyra but he has made a real pig's ear of the chance. 1:56PM 25 mins Xhaka has given away a bit of a soft freekick, handy position. Didn't really need to make the tackle, his man was going nowhere. 1:54PM 23 mins Ozil plays the ball with his shoulder! 1:53PM 22 mins Prodl is putting himself about, I wouldn't be surprised to see a booking for him, he's made some heavy metal tackles and God knows he only has to mistime it by a fraction. 1:48PM 18 mins Good move! El Nenny opens up the defence, Kolasinac with a nice hard low cross, and Aubameyang slides in to guide the ball... just wide. Defence splitting pass by *checks notes...checks notes again*...Mohamed Elneny?— Nick Miller (@NickMiller79) March 11, 2018 1:47PM Thousands of em Mustafi scores what the stadium announcer describes as "Arsenal's 1000th Premier League goal", which I can confirm is definitely not a thing.— Jonathan Liew (@jonathanliew) March 11, 2018 1:45PM 15 mins A stop-start few minutes as first we need to stop the game as Shkodran Mustafi gets a bit of treatment. And now Elneny has accidentally given Richarlison a whack in the puss and he needs looked at as well. 1:43PM 10 mins Arsenal have a chance to break here, Mkhitaryan plays it in behind for Aubameyang. Prodl manages to muscle the Arsenal striker off the ball, and in fact does that with some ease. 1:40PM 8 mins The goal appears to have woken Watford up, they make a decent attack that wins a corner. 1:39PM GOAL! Mustafi! Arsenal! Watford have been undone with the simplest of freekicks. Ozil about 30 yards out on the left, decent delivery, and Mustafi has got up nicely in between the centre halves to nod it in. Pretty wet from Watford, who have not been at the races and have suffered the indignity of being overpowered in the air by Arsenal. 1:36PM 5 mins Richarlison, one of my favourites, gallops down that left flank and drills a shot that won't be causing Cech any sleepless nights. 1:35PM 4 mins There's no hostility from the Arsenal fans this afternoon, they are not on the team's back. That result against Milan was very welcome. It has been a bright start from the hosts, Mkhitaryan among those getting on the ball and asking some questions. 1:33PM 2 mins Decent from Arsenal. This is nice play from Ozil, slipped forward for Aubameyang who races forward onto the ball, he hits it nicely but straight at the keeper who nevertheless earns his money because that was really travelling. Corner cleared no dramas. 1:30PM 1 mins Watford kick off. "Plenty of empty seats," winces Alan Smith on the telly. 1:29PM Very much so indeed Motty Today’s match will be this mans last ever live commentary. What an incredible 50 year career. A truly brilliant broadcaster. pic.twitter.com/DvdXfINfOP— James Corden (@JKCorden) March 11, 2018 1:29PM Watford side Credit: Sky Sports Premier League 1:28PM Arsenal side Credit: Sky Sports Premier League 1:27PM Sherwood is having a super Sunday! "Cech looks well up for this. He's normally a calming presence, he looks like is ready to go out there and chin somebody!" Credit: Getty Images 1:25PM Bloody nora This is terrible! Burnley substitutes let kids onto the bench to escape fighting in stands #WHUBURpic.twitter.com/VVaVNoxICj— Johnny Phillips (@SkyJohnnyP) March 10, 2018 1:22PM Tim Sherwood with some good punditry "Doucouré is better than anything Arsenal have in midfield. He gets up and down, he can hit them off both feet, he's got an eye for goal. He is a typical complete Premier League player. "Managers come into Watford knowing they have no say in the recruitment, but the recruitment is done well. Players know that they come into Watford, do well, and it is a stepping stone. The club realise that too, they are a selling club, and it is all about staying in the PL. And they have are staying up each season quite easily." Pretty good summary of Watford's situation and philosophy, no? 1:19PM It's the Premier League's newest coach versus its most long-standing. 1:06PM Those teams again Arsenal: Cech, Maitland-Niles, Mustafi, Holding, Kolasinac, Elneny, Xhaka, Mkhitaryan, Ozil, Iwobi, Aubameyang. Subs: Wilshere, Ospina, Chambers, Welbeck, Nelson, Nketiah, Willock. Watford: Karnezis, Janmaat, Prodl, Mariappa, Holebas, Doucoure, Capoue, Femenia, Pereyra, Richarlison, Deeney. Subs: Britos, Sinclair, Gray, Hughes, Carrillo, Okaka, Bachmann. Referee: Martin Atkinson (W Yorkshire) 1:05PM Interesting from Arsene on hate Arsene Wenger has revealed the physical and emotional torment he has suffered in recent weeks as Arsenal have produced their worst run of form in more than 15 years. The Arsenal manager admitted that the club’s recent struggles had left him in “disastrous shape” and struggling to sleep as his side fell to four consecutive defeats for the first time since 2002. He also revealed that he has received messages of support from the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson, the former Manchester United manager. “It is not the person they hate,” Wenger said of the supporters who have called for him to be replaced. “They hate the manager who does not deliver the performance. I can make that difference. Arsene Wenger admits to feeling the strain of Arsenal's losing run 12:45PM Kick off is at 1.30 Arsenal surely cannot afford another slip up, can they? Morale somewhat restored after that European result midweek, but team spirit is hanging by a thread. 12:44PM Here be Hornets �� | #watfordfc line-up v @Arsenal | Karnezis (GK); Femenía, Prödl, Mariappa, Holebas; Doucouré, Capoue; Janmaat, Pereyra, Richarlison; Deeney (C). Subs | Bachmann (GK), Britos, Hughes, Carrillo, Sinclair, Gray, Okaka.#ARSWATpic.twitter.com/bjglz70Lz9— Watford Football Club (@WatfordFC) March 11, 2018 12:43PM Here is the Arsenal team �� Our starting XI for this afternoon's game against @WatfordFC#AFCvWFCpic.twitter.com/ZSlSF0NCGX— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) March 11, 2018 12:29PM Match preview Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker has revealed how the burden of needing to perform on a match day brings him close to throwing up. The World Cup winner is set to take his first steps into management when he begins a role as Arsenal's new academy manager from the start of the 2018/19 campaign. Mertesacker has, however, continued to be part of Arsene Wenger's first-team squad, but last featured in the third-round FA Cup defeat at Nottingham Forest in January. The 33-year-old gave a wide-ranging interview with German weekly news magazine Der Spiegel, in which he addressed the issues he tackled on the pitch as well as looking ahead to the next chapter of his career. "Some days you realise that everything is a burden, both physically and mentally... but you have to deliver without a doubt, even if you are injured," former Germany international Mertesacker said. "In the moments before a game starts, my stomach turns around as if I had to vomit. Then I have to choke so violently until my eyes water." Mertesacker has revealed the pressure that builds before a match Credit: Getty Images Despite his difficulties, Mertesacker - who also won the FA Cup three times with Arsenal and captained the team, becoming a cult figure with fans - has no regrets. "Even if I had to vomit before every game and go to rehab 20 times, I would do it all over again. It was worth it for all of the memories," he said. Mertesacker's decision to retire has been brought on in part by a long-standing knee problem. "My body is finished," the German told Der Spiegel. "Everyone says I should enjoy the last year, to play as much as possible and take everything in, (but) I would rather sit on the bench or - even better - in the stands, and then, for the first time in my life, aged more than 30, I will feel free."

It received the biggest cheer of the afternoon but did not come when any of Arsenal’s three goals were scored or even as the final whistle was blown and a run of three successive Premier League defeats had been arrested. Instead it came at the pivotal incident when Troy Deeney had to show the ‘cojones’, the mental strength he had said Arsenal lacked after the last meeting between these two sides in October when he came on as a substitute to turn the game around. Deeney scored from the penalty spot then and he was presented with the chance, immediately after Arsenal had gone into a 2-0 lead, to do so again here. There was more than 30 minutes still to play and Arsenal had been wobbling when Deeney had the golden opportunity to get his team back into it. But the striker’s kick was far too straight and Petr Cech diverted it away with an outstretched arm. It was the first time, at the 16th attempt, that Cech had saved a penalty in Arsenal colours and it also helped him – finally – to collect a 200th clean sheet in the Premier League. The 35-year-old therefore became the first goalkeeper to reach that mark having been stuck on 199 since mid-December. Asked whether Deeney’s comments had fired up his players, Arsene Wenger acknowledged it had been a factor. “You know you cannot be a footballer without pride,” he said. There has been a lot of wounded pride at Arsenal this season. “You cannot be in this sport without pride. All these things count always a little bit. For how much I don’t know. But of course it plays a part.” Shkodran Mustafi scores Arsenal's first goal Credit: REUTERS How the Arsenal fans also delighted in Deeney’s failure; or at least those who turned up. Anger has turned to apathy at the Emirates and there were thousands of empty seats as this game unfolded and that will be of concern to the club. Officially, there were 59,131 seats ‘sold’ but a lot were unoccupied. Many, many fans voted with their feet and this was not in anticipation of a defeat against Manchester City on a freezing cold night, as with their previous home game, but for a fixture against mid-table Watford on a Sunday lunchtime. “Your ground’s too big for you,” taunted the Watford supporters early on. For Wenger there was, nevertheless, obvious relief at this result even if it was also evident that he is now prioritising the Europa League as he made six changes from the side that gained a 2-0 lead away to AC Milan in the first leg of Arsenal’s last-16 tie. They face the same opponents at the Emirates on Thursday and Wenger knows that with the chance of finishing in the top four gone his only hope of Champions League qualification, and maybe saving his job, is to win the Europa League. It is a gamble. And despite the emphatic scoreline so was this game; a game in which Cech was Arsenal’s man-of-the-match and, once more, they looked vulnerable each time their opponents attacked them which was made all the more alarming considering the early grip they had taken. In fact Arsenal could have scored even before they did in the eighth minute. Already Watford goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis had saved well from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, diverting his shot for a corner with his leg when the striker was slipped through by Mesut Ozil, before he was beaten. Ozil’s free-kick was met by Shkodran Mustafi who guided his header back across goal after inexplicably being left unmarked by Adrian Mariappa and Jose Holebas. It marked the 1,000 goal Arsenal had scored in the Premier League at home with only Manchester United having reached that mark quicker. But thousands missed the 3-0 win with fans staying away Credit: Getty Images At that point it felt like it would be a long afternoon for Watford but they soon began to rack up chances. Firstly Richarlison was put clear by Roberto Pereyra with a long ball but he checked, rather than shot, with the opportunity opening up for the onrushing Abdoulaye Doucoure whose low drive was smartly blocked by Cech. Then Watford should have levelled when Richarlison’s free-kick was pushed out by a scrambling Cech only for Pereyra to blast the rebound over when he surely had to score or pass to the unmarked Mariappa. Immediately Arsenal countered and appeared set to double their advantage with Ozil nudging the ball past Mariappa to put himself through on goal only for Karnezis to save his side-footed shot with his legs. On half-time a cross by Kiko Femenia was met by Richarlison and his near post header was pushed away by Cech. Arsenal were sloppy, careless and Watford will have felt they did not deserve to be behind. But, instead, they conceded again when Henrikh Mkhitaryan ran through the middle and slipped a pass to Aubameyang. Karnezis rushed out but stopped, realising he was not going to get there with Aubameyang rounding him before clipping the ball into the empty net. Cech saves Deeney's penalty Credit: Getty Images Europe Soon after, Watford were awarded their penalty as Pereyra dribbled into the area and was caught by Ainsley Maitland-Niles' outstretched trailing leg. Deeney missed and Watford soon lost heart as Ozil ran free down the left and crossed low. The ball was pushed out by Karnezis but only to Aubameyang who turned and passed to Mkhitaryan. The Armenian side-footed home to end any lingering doubt. “Deeney, Deeney, what’s the score?” taunted the Arsenal fans while Hector Bellerin – who had conceded the penalty when Arsenal lost to Watford last autumn – trolled Deeney by tweeting: “Looks like you couldn’t see today either.” Deeney will take that on the chin. And hopefully it will not prove to be false bravado for the rest of Arsenal's campaign. 3:23PM Full time: Arsenal 3 Watford 0 Not flawless from Arsenal, but they'll absolutely take this. Probably the key moment was the penalty save at 2-0. Had Troy Deeney put that away, it would have been 2-1, and with this fragile Arsenal side, you never know. But as it turned out, a handy win for Arsenal. Ten out of ten home wins for teams below them for Arsenal this season. Thanks for following it with us. I myself am dashing to blog Bournemouth v Tottenham, the Redknapp derby, and so I will bid you good day. Match report will be up directly. 3:18PM 90 mins From a freekick, the ball drops kindly for a Watford player but, unkindly, the player to whom it drops is Prodl. Row ZZ. 3:17PM 87 mins Xhaka yells at Referee Atkinson, who books him for being a total pranny dissent. Xhaka still goes back for more. 3:14PM 85 mins Arsenal looking classy now, they're opening up Watford at will. Wilshere slips it to Welbeck, he cracks the ball at goal. Parried out. Watford have had enough, I'd say. 3:11PM Some front Troy Deeney set to break the Premier Leaue record for fronting up - currently held jointly by John Terry and Joe Hart - after this game— Adam Hurrey (@FootballCliches) March 11, 2018 3:10PM 80 mins Miguel Britos replaces Daryl Janmaat and that'll be the final change for either side. 3:07PM 78 mins Mkhitaryan taken off immediately. Jack Wilshere the man who comes on. Sore one for Xhaka as Deeney stands on the back of his calf. 3:06PM GOAL! Mkhitaryan! Arsenal 3 Watford 0 Ozil down the left, he plays the ball to Aubameyang. He shows good composure and vision to find his former Dortmund colleague a few yards further inside. Mkhitaryan hits it. Goalie should have done A LOT better there. Goal. These two love playing together - @Aubameyang7 lays it off this time and @HenrikhMkh fires home#AFCvWFC 3-0 (77) pic.twitter.com/bKurN2B84i— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) March 11, 2018 3:01PM 72 mins Richarlison does well to get to the byline, Mustafi gets it clear. His reward for that piece of defending is to be subbed off for a nice sit down. Chambers is the man to replace him. 2:58PM 70 mins Watford look like they have run their race. 2:57PM 67 mins Pereyra off for Okaka. Dat Guy Welbz is on for Iwobbly. 2:56PM What a balloon Simone Zaza trying to headbutt someone’s arm to get a free kick is the funniest thing I’ve seen today. pic.twitter.com/nBwUKeOLrV— Dan Critchlow (@afcDW) March 10, 2018 2:53PM 65 mins Now Holebas tacks a turn to clatter Mkhitaryan. Yeller. 2:52PM 63 mins Arsenal should have a penalty of their own. Mkhitaryan into the box on the right and he gets his pass away a split second before Mariappa absolutely cleans him out. Mariappa is lucky that Mkhitaryan had already got rid of the ball because otherwise that was a pen all day. Femenía off for Hughes. 2:48PM 60 mins Just as I was going to say that Arsenal can relax a bit, Pereyra has been awarded a penalty as Maitland-Niles clumsily blocks him off. Troy Deeney steps up to take the penalty, he wallops it down the middle. Cech dives to his right but gets his hand up, he's blocked it, and the Arsenal fans, who have beef with TD, absolutely love it. Some of them even cheer. Deeney penalty saved 2:47PM GOAL! Arsenal 2 Watford 0 (Aubameyang) Mkhitaryan has not done a lot, but he's picked the ball up here and driven forward. Times his through ball perfectly, Aubameyang is onto it, round the keeper and slots it away. Against the run of play, but Arsenal won't care about that. 2:44PM 55 mins Oof. Watford with an excellent ball in, narrowly wide. Arsenal clinging on. 2:43PM 54 mins Mustafi has a yellow card to accompany his goal as he poleaxes Richarlison. 2:40PM 50 mins Capoue has overpowered Mkhitaryan. "He's had a poor game, lost the ball too often," says A Smith. "You'd have hoped that the goal against Milan might encourage him to kick on, but..." 2:37PM 47 mins Femenia crunches a volley, it hits Holding and pings out for a corner. Arsenal's defending of the dead ball is less than assured. 2:35PM Blanky Wrighty needs blanky Credit: Sky 2:34PM 46 mins Iwobi, back to goal, does well to tee up Xhaka. Creamed at goal, and the Watford goalie needs two attempts to stop it. Parries, then gathers. 2:32PM Players are back out Cech looks way intense. Maybe it's the hunt for that 200th clean sheet? Anyway. No subs. Arsenal to kick off. 2:29PM Nice work from Opta 50 - Mesut Özil has become the fastest player to reach 50 Premier League assists, doing so in just 141 games and breaking the record previously held by Eric Cantona (143 games). Magic. pic.twitter.com/yMZquraDd3— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 11, 2018 2:20PM Half time: Arsenal 1 Watford 0 Arsenal bossed that for half an hour but were clinging on as the half drew to a close. No reason at all for Watford to despair. I fancy them for a goal. 2:19PM 45 mins More stress for Arsenal. Richarlison! Good effort from a cross, Cech tips it behind. Now tey have to deal with a corner, the ball flashes through the area, and mercifully for Arsenal the ref brings this half to a close with the hosts on the ropes. Watford might have hoped for another couple of minutes added there, there were only two.... 2:15PM 44 mins Cech has the ball. Pereyra is all up in his grille. Cech attempts to throw the ball and there is a heart-stopping moment for him as he manages to get only a yard on the throw! OMG. Hacked clear. 2:13PM 42 mins If Femenía were two-footed, he would have had a glorious chance. But he is not. Really good spell for the Hornets, Arsenal look defensively incompetent, nervous, and lacking in spirit. Which they are. 2:12PM 41 mins Nicely worked freekick, El Neny regresses to the mean by nodding off and letting his man go past him. At the back stick, Femenía has an effort, Holding with the half block. It's onto the roof of the net. 2:11PM 39 mins Good couple of minutes from Holebas, some good battling and not a decent ball into the box. Any mention of him always has me humming Watford are at it now. Mkhitaryan has given the ball away to increase the pressure. Now Hollaback wins a corner. 2:07PM 35 mins Sound the town bell, Arsenal are actually fighting for the ball. First Henrik M and now Aubameyang win physical duels. 2:05PM 34 mins Arsenal enjoying a nice spell on the ball, looking a cut above Watford right now. Troy Deeney equaliser incoming in 7 minutes, then. 2:01PM 30 mins Ozil, who has been bossing this, gets the back of his ankle trodden on by that man Prodl. Sore one. Goes down. Arsenal relieved to see him get back to his feet. 1:59PM 27 mins Really should have been the equaliser there, or at the bare minimum hit the target. Arsenal nearly exact swift, full revenge when they go up the other end. El Neny slips the ball to Ozil, who glides into the area and tries to dink it, but Watford's keeper Karnezis manages to get his trailing leg on it. Narrow squeak. 1:57PM 26 mins It's a good freekick from Richarlison, Cech gets down to the low ball and parries it... right back into the danger area. It's on a plate for Pereyra but he has made a real pig's ear of the chance. 1:56PM 25 mins Xhaka has given away a bit of a soft freekick, handy position. Didn't really need to make the tackle, his man was going nowhere. 1:54PM 23 mins Ozil plays the ball with his shoulder! 1:53PM 22 mins Prodl is putting himself about, I wouldn't be surprised to see a booking for him, he's made some heavy metal tackles and God knows he only has to mistime it by a fraction. 1:48PM 18 mins Good move! El Nenny opens up the defence, Kolasinac with a nice hard low cross, and Aubameyang slides in to guide the ball... just wide. Defence splitting pass by *checks notes...checks notes again*...Mohamed Elneny?— Nick Miller (@NickMiller79) March 11, 2018 1:47PM Thousands of em Mustafi scores what the stadium announcer describes as "Arsenal's 1000th Premier League goal", which I can confirm is definitely not a thing.— Jonathan Liew (@jonathanliew) March 11, 2018 1:45PM 15 mins A stop-start few minutes as first we need to stop the game as Shkodran Mustafi gets a bit of treatment. And now Elneny has accidentally given Richarlison a whack in the puss and he needs looked at as well. 1:43PM 10 mins Arsenal have a chance to break here, Mkhitaryan plays it in behind for Aubameyang. Prodl manages to muscle the Arsenal striker off the ball, and in fact does that with some ease. 1:40PM 8 mins The goal appears to have woken Watford up, they make a decent attack that wins a corner. 1:39PM GOAL! Mustafi! Arsenal! Watford have been undone with the simplest of freekicks. Ozil about 30 yards out on the left, decent delivery, and Mustafi has got up nicely in between the centre halves to nod it in. Pretty wet from Watford, who have not been at the races and have suffered the indignity of being overpowered in the air by Arsenal. 1:36PM 5 mins Richarlison, one of my favourites, gallops down that left flank and drills a shot that won't be causing Cech any sleepless nights. 1:35PM 4 mins There's no hostility from the Arsenal fans this afternoon, they are not on the team's back. That result against Milan was very welcome. It has been a bright start from the hosts, Mkhitaryan among those getting on the ball and asking some questions. 1:33PM 2 mins Decent from Arsenal. This is nice play from Ozil, slipped forward for Aubameyang who races forward onto the ball, he hits it nicely but straight at the keeper who nevertheless earns his money because that was really travelling. Corner cleared no dramas. 1:30PM 1 mins Watford kick off. "Plenty of empty seats," winces Alan Smith on the telly. 1:29PM Very much so indeed Motty Today’s match will be this mans last ever live commentary. What an incredible 50 year career. A truly brilliant broadcaster. pic.twitter.com/DvdXfINfOP— James Corden (@JKCorden) March 11, 2018 1:29PM Watford side Credit: Sky Sports Premier League 1:28PM Arsenal side Credit: Sky Sports Premier League 1:27PM Sherwood is having a super Sunday! "Cech looks well up for this. He's normally a calming presence, he looks like is ready to go out there and chin somebody!" Credit: Getty Images 1:25PM Bloody nora This is terrible! Burnley substitutes let kids onto the bench to escape fighting in stands #WHUBURpic.twitter.com/VVaVNoxICj— Johnny Phillips (@SkyJohnnyP) March 10, 2018 1:22PM Tim Sherwood with some good punditry "Doucouré is better than anything Arsenal have in midfield. He gets up and down, he can hit them off both feet, he's got an eye for goal. He is a typical complete Premier League player. "Managers come into Watford knowing they have no say in the recruitment, but the recruitment is done well. Players know that they come into Watford, do well, and it is a stepping stone. The club realise that too, they are a selling club, and it is all about staying in the PL. And they have are staying up each season quite easily." Pretty good summary of Watford's situation and philosophy, no? 1:19PM It's the Premier League's newest coach versus its most long-standing. 1:06PM Those teams again Arsenal: Cech, Maitland-Niles, Mustafi, Holding, Kolasinac, Elneny, Xhaka, Mkhitaryan, Ozil, Iwobi, Aubameyang. Subs: Wilshere, Ospina, Chambers, Welbeck, Nelson, Nketiah, Willock. Watford: Karnezis, Janmaat, Prodl, Mariappa, Holebas, Doucoure, Capoue, Femenia, Pereyra, Richarlison, Deeney. Subs: Britos, Sinclair, Gray, Hughes, Carrillo, Okaka, Bachmann. Referee: Martin Atkinson (W Yorkshire) 1:05PM Interesting from Arsene on hate Arsene Wenger has revealed the physical and emotional torment he has suffered in recent weeks as Arsenal have produced their worst run of form in more than 15 years. The Arsenal manager admitted that the club’s recent struggles had left him in “disastrous shape” and struggling to sleep as his side fell to four consecutive defeats for the first time since 2002. He also revealed that he has received messages of support from the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson, the former Manchester United manager. “It is not the person they hate,” Wenger said of the supporters who have called for him to be replaced. “They hate the manager who does not deliver the performance. I can make that difference. Arsene Wenger admits to feeling the strain of Arsenal's losing run 12:45PM Kick off is at 1.30 Arsenal surely cannot afford another slip up, can they? Morale somewhat restored after that European result midweek, but team spirit is hanging by a thread. 12:44PM Here be Hornets �� | #watfordfc line-up v @Arsenal | Karnezis (GK); Femenía, Prödl, Mariappa, Holebas; Doucouré, Capoue; Janmaat, Pereyra, Richarlison; Deeney (C). Subs | Bachmann (GK), Britos, Hughes, Carrillo, Sinclair, Gray, Okaka.#ARSWATpic.twitter.com/bjglz70Lz9— Watford Football Club (@WatfordFC) March 11, 2018 12:43PM Here is the Arsenal team �� Our starting XI for this afternoon's game against @WatfordFC#AFCvWFCpic.twitter.com/ZSlSF0NCGX— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) March 11, 2018 12:29PM Match preview Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker has revealed how the burden of needing to perform on a match day brings him close to throwing up. The World Cup winner is set to take his first steps into management when he begins a role as Arsenal's new academy manager from the start of the 2018/19 campaign. Mertesacker has, however, continued to be part of Arsene Wenger's first-team squad, but last featured in the third-round FA Cup defeat at Nottingham Forest in January. The 33-year-old gave a wide-ranging interview with German weekly news magazine Der Spiegel, in which he addressed the issues he tackled on the pitch as well as looking ahead to the next chapter of his career. "Some days you realise that everything is a burden, both physically and mentally... but you have to deliver without a doubt, even if you are injured," former Germany international Mertesacker said. "In the moments before a game starts, my stomach turns around as if I had to vomit. Then I have to choke so violently until my eyes water." Mertesacker has revealed the pressure that builds before a match Credit: Getty Images Despite his difficulties, Mertesacker - who also won the FA Cup three times with Arsenal and captained the team, becoming a cult figure with fans - has no regrets. "Even if I had to vomit before every game and go to rehab 20 times, I would do it all over again. It was worth it for all of the memories," he said. Mertesacker's decision to retire has been brought on in part by a long-standing knee problem. "My body is finished," the German told Der Spiegel. "Everyone says I should enjoy the last year, to play as much as possible and take everything in, (but) I would rather sit on the bench or - even better - in the stands, and then, for the first time in my life, aged more than 30, I will feel free."

It received the biggest cheer of the afternoon but did not come when any of Arsenal’s three goals were scored or even as the final whistle was blown and a run of three successive Premier League defeats had been arrested. Instead it came at the pivotal incident when Troy Deeney had to show the ‘cojones’, the mental strength he had said Arsenal lacked after the last meeting between these two sides in October when he came on as a substitute to turn the game around. Deeney scored from the penalty spot then and he was presented with the chance, immediately after Arsenal had gone into a 2-0 lead, to do so again here. There was more than 30 minutes still to play and Arsenal had been wobbling when Deeney had the golden opportunity to get his team back into it. But the striker’s kick was far too straight and Petr Cech diverted it away with an outstretched arm. It was the first time, at the 16th attempt, that Cech had saved a penalty in Arsenal colours and it also helped him – finally – to collect a 200th clean sheet in the Premier League. The 35-year-old therefore became the first goalkeeper to reach that mark having been stuck on 199 since mid-December. Asked whether Deeney’s comments had fired up his players, Arsene Wenger acknowledged it had been a factor. “You know you cannot be a footballer without pride,” he said. There has been a lot of wounded pride at Arsenal this season. “You cannot be in this sport without pride. All these things count always a little bit. For how much I don’t know. But of course it plays a part.” Shkodran Mustafi scores Arsenal's first goal Credit: REUTERS How the Arsenal fans also delighted in Deeney’s failure; or at least those who turned up. Anger has turned to apathy at the Emirates and there were thousands of empty seats as this game unfolded and that will be of concern to the club. Officially, there were 59,131 seats ‘sold’ but a lot were unoccupied. Many, many fans voted with their feet and this was not in anticipation of a defeat against Manchester City on a freezing cold night, as with their previous home game, but for a fixture against mid-table Watford on a Sunday lunchtime. “Your ground’s too big for you,” taunted the Watford supporters early on. For Wenger there was, nevertheless, obvious relief at this result even if it was also evident that he is now prioritising the Europa League as he made six changes from the side that gained a 2-0 lead away to AC Milan in the first leg of Arsenal’s last-16 tie. They face the same opponents at the Emirates on Thursday and Wenger knows that with the chance of finishing in the top four gone his only hope of Champions League qualification, and maybe saving his job, is to win the Europa League. It is a gamble. And despite the emphatic scoreline so was this game; a game in which Cech was Arsenal’s man-of-the-match and, once more, they looked vulnerable each time their opponents attacked them which was made all the more alarming considering the early grip they had taken. In fact Arsenal could have scored even before they did in the eighth minute. Already Watford goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis had saved well from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, diverting his shot for a corner with his leg when the striker was slipped through by Mesut Ozil, before he was beaten. Ozil’s free-kick was met by Shkodran Mustafi who guided his header back across goal after inexplicably being left unmarked by Adrian Mariappa and Jose Holebas. It marked the 1,000 goal Arsenal had scored in the Premier League at home with only Manchester United having reached that mark quicker. But thousands missed the 3-0 win with fans staying away Credit: Getty Images At that point it felt like it would be a long afternoon for Watford but they soon began to rack up chances. Firstly Richarlison was put clear by Roberto Pereyra with a long ball but he checked, rather than shot, with the opportunity opening up for the onrushing Abdoulaye Doucoure whose low drive was smartly blocked by Cech. Then Watford should have levelled when Richarlison’s free-kick was pushed out by a scrambling Cech only for Pereyra to blast the rebound over when he surely had to score or pass to the unmarked Mariappa. Immediately Arsenal countered and appeared set to double their advantage with Ozil nudging the ball past Mariappa to put himself through on goal only for Karnezis to save his side-footed shot with his legs. On half-time a cross by Kiko Femenia was met by Richarlison and his near post header was pushed away by Cech. Arsenal were sloppy, careless and Watford will have felt they did not deserve to be behind. But, instead, they conceded again when Henrikh Mkhitaryan ran through the middle and slipped a pass to Aubameyang. Karnezis rushed out but stopped, realising he was not going to get there with Aubameyang rounding him before clipping the ball into the empty net. Cech saves Deeney's penalty Credit: Getty Images Europe Soon after, Watford were awarded their penalty as Pereyra dribbled into the area and was caught by Ainsley Maitland-Niles' outstretched trailing leg. Deeney missed and Watford soon lost heart as Ozil ran free down the left and crossed low. The ball was pushed out by Karnezis but only to Aubameyang who turned and passed to Mkhitaryan. The Armenian side-footed home to end any lingering doubt. “Deeney, Deeney, what’s the score?” taunted the Arsenal fans while Hector Bellerin – who had conceded the penalty when Arsenal lost to Watford last autumn – trolled Deeney by tweeting: “Looks like you couldn’t see today either.” Deeney will take that on the chin. And hopefully it will not prove to be false bravado for the rest of Arsenal's campaign. 3:23PM Full time: Arsenal 3 Watford 0 Not flawless from Arsenal, but they'll absolutely take this. Probably the key moment was the penalty save at 2-0. Had Troy Deeney put that away, it would have been 2-1, and with this fragile Arsenal side, you never know. But as it turned out, a handy win for Arsenal. Ten out of ten home wins for teams below them for Arsenal this season. Thanks for following it with us. I myself am dashing to blog Bournemouth v Tottenham, the Redknapp derby, and so I will bid you good day. Match report will be up directly. 3:18PM 90 mins From a freekick, the ball drops kindly for a Watford player but, unkindly, the player to whom it drops is Prodl. Row ZZ. 3:17PM 87 mins Xhaka yells at Referee Atkinson, who books him for being a total pranny dissent. Xhaka still goes back for more. 3:14PM 85 mins Arsenal looking classy now, they're opening up Watford at will. Wilshere slips it to Welbeck, he cracks the ball at goal. Parried out. Watford have had enough, I'd say. 3:11PM Some front Troy Deeney set to break the Premier Leaue record for fronting up - currently held jointly by John Terry and Joe Hart - after this game— Adam Hurrey (@FootballCliches) March 11, 2018 3:10PM 80 mins Miguel Britos replaces Daryl Janmaat and that'll be the final change for either side. 3:07PM 78 mins Mkhitaryan taken off immediately. Jack Wilshere the man who comes on. Sore one for Xhaka as Deeney stands on the back of his calf. 3:06PM GOAL! Mkhitaryan! Arsenal 3 Watford 0 Ozil down the left, he plays the ball to Aubameyang. He shows good composure and vision to find his former Dortmund colleague a few yards further inside. Mkhitaryan hits it. Goalie should have done A LOT better there. Goal. These two love playing together - @Aubameyang7 lays it off this time and @HenrikhMkh fires home#AFCvWFC 3-0 (77) pic.twitter.com/bKurN2B84i— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) March 11, 2018 3:01PM 72 mins Richarlison does well to get to the byline, Mustafi gets it clear. His reward for that piece of defending is to be subbed off for a nice sit down. Chambers is the man to replace him. 2:58PM 70 mins Watford look like they have run their race. 2:57PM 67 mins Pereyra off for Okaka. Dat Guy Welbz is on for Iwobbly. 2:56PM What a balloon Simone Zaza trying to headbutt someone’s arm to get a free kick is the funniest thing I’ve seen today. pic.twitter.com/nBwUKeOLrV— Dan Critchlow (@afcDW) March 10, 2018 2:53PM 65 mins Now Holebas tacks a turn to clatter Mkhitaryan. Yeller. 2:52PM 63 mins Arsenal should have a penalty of their own. Mkhitaryan into the box on the right and he gets his pass away a split second before Mariappa absolutely cleans him out. Mariappa is lucky that Mkhitaryan had already got rid of the ball because otherwise that was a pen all day. Femenía off for Hughes. 2:48PM 60 mins Just as I was going to say that Arsenal can relax a bit, Pereyra has been awarded a penalty as Maitland-Niles clumsily blocks him off. Troy Deeney steps up to take the penalty, he wallops it down the middle. Cech dives to his right but gets his hand up, he's blocked it, and the Arsenal fans, who have beef with TD, absolutely love it. Some of them even cheer. Deeney penalty saved 2:47PM GOAL! Arsenal 2 Watford 0 (Aubameyang) Mkhitaryan has not done a lot, but he's picked the ball up here and driven forward. Times his through ball perfectly, Aubameyang is onto it, round the keeper and slots it away. Against the run of play, but Arsenal won't care about that. 2:44PM 55 mins Oof. Watford with an excellent ball in, narrowly wide. Arsenal clinging on. 2:43PM 54 mins Mustafi has a yellow card to accompany his goal as he poleaxes Richarlison. 2:40PM 50 mins Capoue has overpowered Mkhitaryan. "He's had a poor game, lost the ball too often," says A Smith. "You'd have hoped that the goal against Milan might encourage him to kick on, but..." 2:37PM 47 mins Femenia crunches a volley, it hits Holding and pings out for a corner. Arsenal's defending of the dead ball is less than assured. 2:35PM Blanky Wrighty needs blanky Credit: Sky 2:34PM 46 mins Iwobi, back to goal, does well to tee up Xhaka. Creamed at goal, and the Watford goalie needs two attempts to stop it. Parries, then gathers. 2:32PM Players are back out Cech looks way intense. Maybe it's the hunt for that 200th clean sheet? Anyway. No subs. Arsenal to kick off. 2:29PM Nice work from Opta 50 - Mesut Özil has become the fastest player to reach 50 Premier League assists, doing so in just 141 games and breaking the record previously held by Eric Cantona (143 games). Magic. pic.twitter.com/yMZquraDd3— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 11, 2018 2:20PM Half time: Arsenal 1 Watford 0 Arsenal bossed that for half an hour but were clinging on as the half drew to a close. No reason at all for Watford to despair. I fancy them for a goal. 2:19PM 45 mins More stress for Arsenal. Richarlison! Good effort from a cross, Cech tips it behind. Now tey have to deal with a corner, the ball flashes through the area, and mercifully for Arsenal the ref brings this half to a close with the hosts on the ropes. Watford might have hoped for another couple of minutes added there, there were only two.... 2:15PM 44 mins Cech has the ball. Pereyra is all up in his grille. Cech attempts to throw the ball and there is a heart-stopping moment for him as he manages to get only a yard on the throw! OMG. Hacked clear. 2:13PM 42 mins If Femenía were two-footed, he would have had a glorious chance. But he is not. Really good spell for the Hornets, Arsenal look defensively incompetent, nervous, and lacking in spirit. Which they are. 2:12PM 41 mins Nicely worked freekick, El Neny regresses to the mean by nodding off and letting his man go past him. At the back stick, Femenía has an effort, Holding with the half block. It's onto the roof of the net. 2:11PM 39 mins Good couple of minutes from Holebas, some good battling and not a decent ball into the box. Any mention of him always has me humming Watford are at it now. Mkhitaryan has given the ball away to increase the pressure. Now Hollaback wins a corner. 2:07PM 35 mins Sound the town bell, Arsenal are actually fighting for the ball. First Henrik M and now Aubameyang win physical duels. 2:05PM 34 mins Arsenal enjoying a nice spell on the ball, looking a cut above Watford right now. Troy Deeney equaliser incoming in 7 minutes, then. 2:01PM 30 mins Ozil, who has been bossing this, gets the back of his ankle trodden on by that man Prodl. Sore one. Goes down. Arsenal relieved to see him get back to his feet. 1:59PM 27 mins Really should have been the equaliser there, or at the bare minimum hit the target. Arsenal nearly exact swift, full revenge when they go up the other end. El Neny slips the ball to Ozil, who glides into the area and tries to dink it, but Watford's keeper Karnezis manages to get his trailing leg on it. Narrow squeak. 1:57PM 26 mins It's a good freekick from Richarlison, Cech gets down to the low ball and parries it... right back into the danger area. It's on a plate for Pereyra but he has made a real pig's ear of the chance. 1:56PM 25 mins Xhaka has given away a bit of a soft freekick, handy position. Didn't really need to make the tackle, his man was going nowhere. 1:54PM 23 mins Ozil plays the ball with his shoulder! 1:53PM 22 mins Prodl is putting himself about, I wouldn't be surprised to see a booking for him, he's made some heavy metal tackles and God knows he only has to mistime it by a fraction. 1:48PM 18 mins Good move! El Nenny opens up the defence, Kolasinac with a nice hard low cross, and Aubameyang slides in to guide the ball... just wide. Defence splitting pass by *checks notes...checks notes again*...Mohamed Elneny?— Nick Miller (@NickMiller79) March 11, 2018 1:47PM Thousands of em Mustafi scores what the stadium announcer describes as "Arsenal's 1000th Premier League goal", which I can confirm is definitely not a thing.— Jonathan Liew (@jonathanliew) March 11, 2018 1:45PM 15 mins A stop-start few minutes as first we need to stop the game as Shkodran Mustafi gets a bit of treatment. And now Elneny has accidentally given Richarlison a whack in the puss and he needs looked at as well. 1:43PM 10 mins Arsenal have a chance to break here, Mkhitaryan plays it in behind for Aubameyang. Prodl manages to muscle the Arsenal striker off the ball, and in fact does that with some ease. 1:40PM 8 mins The goal appears to have woken Watford up, they make a decent attack that wins a corner. 1:39PM GOAL! Mustafi! Arsenal! Watford have been undone with the simplest of freekicks. Ozil about 30 yards out on the left, decent delivery, and Mustafi has got up nicely in between the centre halves to nod it in. Pretty wet from Watford, who have not been at the races and have suffered the indignity of being overpowered in the air by Arsenal. 1:36PM 5 mins Richarlison, one of my favourites, gallops down that left flank and drills a shot that won't be causing Cech any sleepless nights. 1:35PM 4 mins There's no hostility from the Arsenal fans this afternoon, they are not on the team's back. That result against Milan was very welcome. It has been a bright start from the hosts, Mkhitaryan among those getting on the ball and asking some questions. 1:33PM 2 mins Decent from Arsenal. This is nice play from Ozil, slipped forward for Aubameyang who races forward onto the ball, he hits it nicely but straight at the keeper who nevertheless earns his money because that was really travelling. Corner cleared no dramas. 1:30PM 1 mins Watford kick off. "Plenty of empty seats," winces Alan Smith on the telly. 1:29PM Very much so indeed Motty Today’s match will be this mans last ever live commentary. What an incredible 50 year career. A truly brilliant broadcaster. pic.twitter.com/DvdXfINfOP— James Corden (@JKCorden) March 11, 2018 1:29PM Watford side Credit: Sky Sports Premier League 1:28PM Arsenal side Credit: Sky Sports Premier League 1:27PM Sherwood is having a super Sunday! "Cech looks well up for this. He's normally a calming presence, he looks like is ready to go out there and chin somebody!" Credit: Getty Images 1:25PM Bloody nora This is terrible! Burnley substitutes let kids onto the bench to escape fighting in stands #WHUBURpic.twitter.com/VVaVNoxICj— Johnny Phillips (@SkyJohnnyP) March 10, 2018 1:22PM Tim Sherwood with some good punditry "Doucouré is better than anything Arsenal have in midfield. He gets up and down, he can hit them off both feet, he's got an eye for goal. He is a typical complete Premier League player. "Managers come into Watford knowing they have no say in the recruitment, but the recruitment is done well. Players know that they come into Watford, do well, and it is a stepping stone. The club realise that too, they are a selling club, and it is all about staying in the PL. And they have are staying up each season quite easily." Pretty good summary of Watford's situation and philosophy, no? 1:19PM It's the Premier League's newest coach versus its most long-standing. 1:06PM Those teams again Arsenal: Cech, Maitland-Niles, Mustafi, Holding, Kolasinac, Elneny, Xhaka, Mkhitaryan, Ozil, Iwobi, Aubameyang. Subs: Wilshere, Ospina, Chambers, Welbeck, Nelson, Nketiah, Willock. Watford: Karnezis, Janmaat, Prodl, Mariappa, Holebas, Doucoure, Capoue, Femenia, Pereyra, Richarlison, Deeney. Subs: Britos, Sinclair, Gray, Hughes, Carrillo, Okaka, Bachmann. Referee: Martin Atkinson (W Yorkshire) 1:05PM Interesting from Arsene on hate Arsene Wenger has revealed the physical and emotional torment he has suffered in recent weeks as Arsenal have produced their worst run of form in more than 15 years. The Arsenal manager admitted that the club’s recent struggles had left him in “disastrous shape” and struggling to sleep as his side fell to four consecutive defeats for the first time since 2002. He also revealed that he has received messages of support from the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson, the former Manchester United manager. “It is not the person they hate,” Wenger said of the supporters who have called for him to be replaced. “They hate the manager who does not deliver the performance. I can make that difference. Arsene Wenger admits to feeling the strain of Arsenal's losing run 12:45PM Kick off is at 1.30 Arsenal surely cannot afford another slip up, can they? Morale somewhat restored after that European result midweek, but team spirit is hanging by a thread. 12:44PM Here be Hornets �� | #watfordfc line-up v @Arsenal | Karnezis (GK); Femenía, Prödl, Mariappa, Holebas; Doucouré, Capoue; Janmaat, Pereyra, Richarlison; Deeney (C). Subs | Bachmann (GK), Britos, Hughes, Carrillo, Sinclair, Gray, Okaka.#ARSWATpic.twitter.com/bjglz70Lz9— Watford Football Club (@WatfordFC) March 11, 2018 12:43PM Here is the Arsenal team �� Our starting XI for this afternoon's game against @WatfordFC#AFCvWFCpic.twitter.com/ZSlSF0NCGX— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) March 11, 2018 12:29PM Match preview Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker has revealed how the burden of needing to perform on a match day brings him close to throwing up. The World Cup winner is set to take his first steps into management when he begins a role as Arsenal's new academy manager from the start of the 2018/19 campaign. Mertesacker has, however, continued to be part of Arsene Wenger's first-team squad, but last featured in the third-round FA Cup defeat at Nottingham Forest in January. The 33-year-old gave a wide-ranging interview with German weekly news magazine Der Spiegel, in which he addressed the issues he tackled on the pitch as well as looking ahead to the next chapter of his career. "Some days you realise that everything is a burden, both physically and mentally... but you have to deliver without a doubt, even if you are injured," former Germany international Mertesacker said. "In the moments before a game starts, my stomach turns around as if I had to vomit. Then I have to choke so violently until my eyes water." Mertesacker has revealed the pressure that builds before a match Credit: Getty Images Despite his difficulties, Mertesacker - who also won the FA Cup three times with Arsenal and captained the team, becoming a cult figure with fans - has no regrets. "Even if I had to vomit before every game and go to rehab 20 times, I would do it all over again. It was worth it for all of the memories," he said. Mertesacker's decision to retire has been brought on in part by a long-standing knee problem. "My body is finished," the German told Der Spiegel. "Everyone says I should enjoy the last year, to play as much as possible and take everything in, (but) I would rather sit on the bench or - even better - in the stands, and then, for the first time in my life, aged more than 30, I will feel free."

Arsenal vs Watford, Premier League: live score updates

1:43PM 10 mins Arsenal have a chance to break here, Mkhitaryan plays it in behind for Aubameyang. Prodl manages to muscle the Arsenal striker off the ball, and in fact does that with some ease. 1:40PM 8 mins The goal appears to have woken Watford up, they make a decent attack that wins a corner. 1:39PM GOAL! Mustafi! Arsenal! Watford have been undone with the simplest of freekicks. Ozil about 30 yards out on the left, decent delivery, and Mustafi has got up nicely in between the centre halves to nod it in. Pretty wet from Watford, who have not been at the races and have suffered the indignity of being overpowered in the air by Arsenal. 1:36PM 5 mins Richarlison, one of my favourites, gallops down that left flank and drills a shot that won't be causing Cech any sleepless nights. 1:35PM 4 mins There's no hostility from the Arsenal fans this afternoon, they are not on the team's back. That result against Milan was very welcome. It has been a bright start from the hosts, Mkhitaryan among those getting on the ball and asking some questions. 1:33PM 2 mins Decent from Arsenal. This is nice play from Ozil, slipped forward for Aubameyang who races forward onto the ball, he hits it nicely but straight at the keeper who nevertheless earns his money because that was really travelling. Corner cleared no dramas. 1:30PM 1 mins Watford kick off. "Plenty of empty seats," winces Alan Smith on the telly. 1:29PM Very much so indeed Motty Today’s match will be this mans last ever live commentary. What an incredible 50 year career. A truly brilliant broadcaster. pic.twitter.com/DvdXfINfOP— James Corden (@JKCorden) March 11, 2018 1:29PM Watford side Credit: Sky Sports Premier League 1:28PM Arsenal side Credit: Sky Sports Premier League 1:27PM Sherwood is having a good Sunday! "Cech looks well up for this. He's normally a calming presence, he looks like is ready to go out there and chin somebody!" 1:25PM Bloody nora This is terrible! Burnley substitutes let kids onto the bench to escape fighting in stands #WHUBURpic.twitter.com/VVaVNoxICj— Johnny Phillips (@SkyJohnnyP) March 10, 2018 1:22PM Tim Sherwood with some good punditry "Doucouré is better than anything Arsenal have in midfield. He gets up and down, he can hit them off both feet, he's got an eye for goal. He is a typical complete Premier League player. "Managers come into Watford knowing they have no say in the recruitment, but the recruitment is done well. Players know that they come into Watford, do well, and it is a stepping stone. The club realise that too, they are a selling club, and it is all about staying in the PL. And they have are staying up each season quite easily." Pretty good summary of Watford's situation and philosophy, no? 1:19PM It's the Premier League's newest coach versus its most long-standing. 1:06PM Those teams again Arsenal: Cech, Maitland-Niles, Mustafi, Holding, Kolasinac, Elneny, Xhaka, Mkhitaryan, Ozil, Iwobi, Aubameyang. Subs: Wilshere, Ospina, Chambers, Welbeck, Nelson, Nketiah, Willock. Watford: Karnezis, Janmaat, Prodl, Mariappa, Holebas, Doucoure, Capoue, Femenia, Pereyra, Richarlison, Deeney. Subs: Britos, Sinclair, Gray, Hughes, Carrillo, Okaka, Bachmann. Referee: Martin Atkinson (W Yorkshire) 1:05PM Interesting from Arsene on hate Arsene Wenger has revealed the physical and emotional torment he has suffered in recent weeks as Arsenal have produced their worst run of form in more than 15 years. The Arsenal manager admitted that the club’s recent struggles had left him in “disastrous shape” and struggling to sleep as his side fell to four consecutive defeats for the first time since 2002. He also revealed that he has received messages of support from the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson, the former Manchester United manager. “It is not the person they hate,” Wenger said of the supporters who have called for him to be replaced. “They hate the manager who does not deliver the performance. I can make that difference. Arsene Wenger admits to feeling the strain of Arsenal's losing run 12:45PM Kick off is at 1.30 Arsenal surely cannot afford another slip up, can they? Morale somewhat restored after that European result midweek, but team spirit is hanging by a thread. 12:44PM Here be Hornets �� | #watfordfc line-up v @Arsenal | Karnezis (GK); Femenía, Prödl, Mariappa, Holebas; Doucouré, Capoue; Janmaat, Pereyra, Richarlison; Deeney (C). Subs | Bachmann (GK), Britos, Hughes, Carrillo, Sinclair, Gray, Okaka.#ARSWATpic.twitter.com/bjglz70Lz9— Watford Football Club (@WatfordFC) March 11, 2018 12:43PM Here is the Arsenal team �� Our starting XI for this afternoon's game against @WatfordFC#AFCvWFCpic.twitter.com/ZSlSF0NCGX— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) March 11, 2018 12:29PM Match preview Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker has revealed how the burden of needing to perform on a match day brings him close to throwing up. The World Cup winner is set to take his first steps into management when he begins a role as Arsenal's new academy manager from the start of the 2018/19 campaign. Mertesacker has, however, continued to be part of Arsene Wenger's first-team squad, but last featured in the third-round FA Cup defeat at Nottingham Forest in January. The 33-year-old gave a wide-ranging interview with German weekly news magazine Der Spiegel, in which he addressed the issues he tackled on the pitch as well as looking ahead to the next chapter of his career. "Some days you realise that everything is a burden, both physically and mentally... but you have to deliver without a doubt, even if you are injured," former Germany international Mertesacker said. "In the moments before a game starts, my stomach turns around as if I had to vomit. Then I have to choke so violently until my eyes water." Mertesacker has revealed the pressure that builds before a match Credit: Getty Images Despite his difficulties, Mertesacker - who also won the FA Cup three times with Arsenal and captained the team, becoming a cult figure with fans - has no regrets. "Even if I had to vomit before every game and go to rehab 20 times, I would do it all over again. It was worth it for all of the memories," he said. Mertesacker's decision to retire has been brought on in part by a long-standing knee problem. "My body is finished," the German told Der Spiegel. "Everyone says I should enjoy the last year, to play as much as possible and take everything in, (but) I would rather sit on the bench or - even better - in the stands, and then, for the first time in my life, aged more than 30, I will feel free."

Garry Monk is set to take over at crisis club Birmingham City in the next 24 hours, with a reunion against Middlesbrough lying in wait. Monk will replace Steve Cotterill as manager of the struggling Championship club and is facing Middlesbrough – the club who sacked him in December – in his first game on Tuesday night. The former Swansea and Leeds manager will be assisted by Pep Clotet and has 11 games remaining to save Birmingham from the prospect of dropping into League One. Cotterill was summoned for talks with Birmingham's owners after Saturday's 2-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest and dismissed, five months after he replaced Harry Redknapp. The 53-year-old was understood to have been told before the talks that his departure would be confirmed as mutual consent but was stunned when Birmingham sacked him instead. It is Birmingham's fourth sacking since the controversial exit of Gary Rowett in December 2016 and raises further questions over Trillion Trophy Asia, the club's Chinese owners. Telegraph Sport understands that chief executive Xuandong Ren is also battling to save his job after failing to make any transfer signings in the January transfer window. Darren Dein, the agent working as a highly-paid consultant, has also been marginalised. Cotterill had deals lined up for Preston forward Jordan Hugill, who joined West Ham for £8m, and Chelsea attacker Kasey Palmer – who snubbed Birmingham to join Derby on loan. But Birmingham’s transfer activity was allegedly disrupted by an ongoing row between Ren and Dein in the boardroom, leaving Cotterill unable to make any additions. Recent results have now forced Birmingham’s owners into making another change and Monk has agreed to take the job. Monk, 38, was sacked by Middlesbrough in December, hours after a win at Sheffield Wednesday, and will face his former club at St. Andrew's on Tuesday. Birmingham are 22nd in the league and two points adrift of safety after the defeat at Forest, their fifth in a row.

Steve Cotterill sacked as Birmingham City manager as club face relegation to League One

Steve Cotterill has been sacked as manager of Birmingham City, with the club facing the prospect of dropping into League One. Cotterill was summoned for talks with Birmingham’s owners following Saturday’s 2-1 loss at Nottingham Forest and was dismissed after a run of five successive league defeats which has dragged the Championship club back into the relegation zone, two points adrift of safety. Garry Monk, the former Swansea and Middlesbrough manager, is widely expected to be confirmed as Cotterill’s replacement within the next 48 hours. Cotterill’s impending departure ends a frustrating period for the 53 year-old, who was unable to sign any players in the January transfer window. Telegraph Sport understands that he had deals lined up for Preston forward Jordan Hugill, who joined West Ham for £8 million, and Chelsea attacker Kasey Palmer, who snubbed Birmingham to join Derby on loan. But Birmingham’s transfer activity was allegedly disrupted by an ongoing row between two key figures in the boardroom, leaving Cotterill unable to make any additions. Recent results have now forced Birmingham’s owners, Trillion Trophy Asia, into making their third dugout change in under 12 months. As well as Cotterill, his backroom staff have also been shown the door. “Steve’s contract, and those of the backroom staff - first-team coach Paul Groves, first-team coach Paul Williams, goalkeeper coach Kevin Hitchcock, director of football Jeff Vetere, David Alvarez (head of sports science and medical) and Albert Altarriba-Bartes (first-team strength and conditioning coach) - have been terminated with immediate effect,” said Birmingham in a statement. “The board would like to place on record their sincere thanks to Steve, not only for his significant contribution at the conclusion of last season for which we will remain grateful, but also for his genuine efforts, contribution and hard work during his tenure in this 2017/18 campaign. “Steve has conducted himself professionally on behalf of the club at all times, his work ethic and honesty are a credit to him and there is a genuine sadness at this decision. However, the board feel that a change in management at this stage is in the best interests of the football club.”

Stuart Pearce Makes Shock Arsene Wenger Claim on Sky Sports' Debate

​Sky Sports pundit and and Nottingham Forest legend, Stuart Pearce, has made a shock claim about Arsenal manager, ​Arsene Wenger, with the Englishman believing Wenger should remain in charge of Arsenal and see out his contract - which still has one more season left to run on it. The former England international revealed on Sky Sports' Debate that he thinks ​under-fire Arsene Wenger should see out his Arsenal contract, much to the surprise of fellow pundits and football fans alike. "I am an...

Stuart Pearce Makes Shock Arsene Wenger Claim on Sky Sports' Debate

​Sky Sports pundit and and Nottingham Forest legend, Stuart Pearce, has made a shock claim about Arsenal manager, ​Arsene Wenger, with the Englishman believing Wenger should remain in charge of Arsenal and see out his contract - which still has one more season left to run on it. The former England international revealed on Sky Sports' Debate that he thinks ​under-fire Arsene Wenger should see out his Arsenal contract, much to the surprise of fellow pundits and football fans alike. "I am an...

Stuart Pearce Makes Shock Arsene Wenger Claim on Sky Sports' Debate

​Sky Sports pundit and and Nottingham Forest legend, Stuart Pearce, has made a shock claim about Arsenal manager, ​Arsene Wenger, with the Englishman believing Wenger should remain in charge of Arsenal and see out his contract - which still has one more season left to run on it. The former England international revealed on Sky Sports' Debate that he thinks ​under-fire Arsene Wenger should see out his Arsenal contract, much to the surprise of fellow pundits and football fans alike. "I am an...

'Why do you want more time?' Fourth official could not believe Arsene Wenger wanted no end to League Cup suffering

In what can only be described as an admirable self-own, Arsene Wenger has admitted, having questioned fourth official Graham Scott as to why there was so little injury time at the end of the League Cup final, he was asked: “Why do you want more time?” Arsenal were comprehensively beaten by Manchester City at Wembley, their defensive disorganisation allowing Sergio Aguero, Vincent Kompany and David Silva to score three relatively simple goals. The gulf between the north London side and the Premier League champions elect was enormous, with many Arsenal fans heading for the exits barely a quarter of the way through the second half. Speaking in his post-match press conference, Wenger said: “We know it was difficult to come back [from 3-0 down], even the referee doesn't give the injury time, the added time, regular. “When I said ‘Why do you not give more time?’ he told me ‘Why do you want more time?’ I told him: ‘It's not down to you to judge how long is the time, if you want or not, give a normal [amount of] added time’.” Wenger did concede that City were the better side, saying: “Well done to City, congratulations to them. They won the trophy, they won the cup and they will go happy home. We will go [home] very disappointed.” Having gone out of the FA Cup to Nottingham Forest and currently 27 points behind City in the Premier League, Arsenal's last chance of silverware this season now lies with the Europa League. They have been drawn against AC Milan in Europe, however, so the disappointment could well be set to continue.

Why the quadruple remains English football's impossible dream

In December, Pep Guardiola dismissed the possibility of Manchester City winning the quadruple this season as "impossible", and this week's events have proven him right. While the Premier League title is as good as wrapped up and only one Sunday's final separates them from a Carabao Cup win, a shock defeat in the FA Cup at Wigan put to bed any remaining possibility of glory on four fronts. The treble has been achieved by United, and City could still win a treble of their own this season, but the quadruple remains an impossible dream, never realised and possibly never to be achieved. Here, we remember the teams that came closest to winning all four competitions, with a look at where - and when - their quadruple bid ended. Leeds United - 1969/70 The ultimate 'nearly' season. Don Revie's great side came desperately close to winning three of four available trophies, finishing as Division One runners-up (albeit by a nine-point margin) to Everton, losing FA Cup finalists (they were beaten by Chelsea in a replay in a famous bad-tempered encounter) and being beaten in the European Cup semi-finals by Celtic. A great team that ended the season empty-handed Credit: Getty images Nottingham Forest, 1978/79 Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest won two of the four trophies on offer in the 1978-79 season, and were fighting on four fronts until the end of February, when they were beaten by Arsenal in the FA Cup fifth round. They went on to lift the European Cup for the first time in the club's history in 1979 - they would win it again the following year - but were pipped to the First Division title by Liverpool. Liverpool, 1983/84 Joe Fagan's first season in charge of Liverpool saw them become the first English club to record a treble after winning the First Division, European Cup and League Cup. Ian Rush led the way with 32 goals, but hopes of a quadruple had been derailed at the end of January after a 2-0 loss away at Brighton in the FA Cup fourth round. Liverpool won a treble but could not add the FA Cup Credit: Getty images Manchester United, 1998/99 After finishing the previous season trophyless, Manchester United made amends by pipping Arsenal to the Premier League title, lifting the FA Cup and famously defeating Bayern Munich in injury time to win the European Cup, all in the space of 11 days in May. However, their quadruple hopes had been scuppered reasonably early - courtesy of a defeat in the League Cup quarter-finals to Tottenham. Manchester United, 2002/03 United harboured hopes of four major honours until a disastrous four-week spell ended their hopes in three of them: they were beaten in the FA Cup fifth round by Arsenal, the League Cup final by Liverpool and in the Champions League by Real Madrid. Their 'consolation' was winning the Premier League title by five points from Arsenal, who had led for most of the campaign until a late-season collapse. Quadruple nearly men Arsenal, 2003/04 Arsene Wenger's side may have been invincible in the league but they fell just short in the other major competitions. Their quadruple challenge was ended in the League Cup semi-finals by Middlesbrough on Feb 5, while they were knocked out of the FA Cup by Manchester United and the Champions League by Chelsea. Chelsea, 2006/07 The nearest any English club has come to a quadruple, with Jose Mourinho's side having genuine hopes of succcess in all four competitions until May 1, when they were beaten on penalties by Liverpool in the Champions League semi-finals. A run of draws then demolished their hopes of a third straight league title, although they did win a League Cup and FA Cup double, with Didier Drogba ending the season with 33 goals. Chelsea came painfully close to winning all four competitions Credit: getty images Manchester United, 2008/09 Unitedwon the Premier League for the third consecutive year and beat Tottenham on penalties to add the League Cup to their trophy cabinet. Though they lost to Everton by the same means in the FA Cup semi-final and lost 2-0 to Barcelona in the Champions League Final, denying them a quadruple. Manchester City, 2013/14 City looked ominously strong under Manuel Pellegrini, keeping pace at the top of the Premier League and winning the League Cup final in early March. But Barcelona ultimately quashed their hopes with a dominant performance in the Champions League last 16 tie, while Wigan - yes, them again - sent them crashing out of the FA Cup quarter-finals.

Why the quadruple remains English football's impossible dream

In December, Pep Guardiola dismissed the possibility of Manchester City winning the quadruple this season as "impossible", and this week's events have proven him right. While the Premier League title is as good as wrapped up and only one Sunday's final separates them from a Carabao Cup win, a shock defeat in the FA Cup at Wigan put to bed any remaining possibility of glory on four fronts. The treble has been achieved by United, and City could still win a treble of their own this season, but the quadruple remains an impossible dream, never realised and possibly never to be achieved. Here, we remember the teams that came closest to winning all four competitions, with a look at where - and when - their quadruple bid ended. Leeds United - 1969/70 The ultimate 'nearly' season. Don Revie's great side came desperately close to winning three of four available trophies, finishing as Division One runners-up (albeit by a nine-point margin) to Everton, losing FA Cup finalists (they were beaten by Chelsea in a replay in a famous bad-tempered encounter) and being beaten in the European Cup semi-finals by Celtic. A great team that ended the season empty-handed Credit: Getty images Nottingham Forest, 1978/79 Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest won two of the four trophies on offer in the 1978-79 season, and were fighting on four fronts until the end of February, when they were beaten by Arsenal in the FA Cup fifth round. They went on to lift the European Cup for the first time in the club's history in 1979 - they would win it again the following year - but were pipped to the First Division title by Liverpool. Liverpool, 1983/84 Joe Fagan's first season in charge of Liverpool saw them become the first English club to record a treble after winning the First Division, European Cup and League Cup. Ian Rush led the way with 32 goals, but hopes of a quadruple had been derailed at the end of January after a 2-0 loss away at Brighton in the FA Cup fourth round. Liverpool won a treble but could not add the FA Cup Credit: Getty images Manchester United, 1998/99 After finishing the previous season trophyless, Manchester United made amends by pipping Arsenal to the Premier League title, lifting the FA Cup and famously defeating Bayern Munich in injury time to win the European Cup, all in the space of 11 days in May. However, their quadruple hopes had been scuppered reasonably early - courtesy of a defeat in the League Cup quarter-finals to Tottenham. Manchester United, 2002/03 United harboured hopes of four major honours until a disastrous four-week spell ended their hopes in three of them: they were beaten in the FA Cup fifth round by Arsenal, the League Cup final by Liverpool and in the Champions League by Real Madrid. Their 'consolation' was winning the Premier League title by five points from Arsenal, who had led for most of the campaign until a late-season collapse. Quadruple nearly men Arsenal, 2003/04 Arsene Wenger's side may have been invincible in the league but they fell just short in the other major competitions. Their quadruple challenge was ended in the League Cup semi-finals by Middlesbrough on Feb 5, while they were knocked out of the FA Cup by Manchester United and the Champions League by Chelsea. Chelsea, 2006/07 The nearest any English club has come to a quadruple, with Jose Mourinho's side having genuine hopes of succcess in all four competitions until May 1, when they were beaten on penalties by Liverpool in the Champions League semi-finals. A run of draws then demolished their hopes of a third straight league title, although they did win a League Cup and FA Cup double, with Didier Drogba ending the season with 33 goals. Chelsea came painfully close to winning all four competitions Credit: getty images Manchester United, 2008/09 Unitedwon the Premier League for the third consecutive year and beat Tottenham on penalties to add the League Cup to their trophy cabinet. Though they lost to Everton by the same means in the FA Cup semi-final and lost 2-0 to Barcelona in the Champions League Final, denying them a quadruple. Manchester City, 2013/14 City looked ominously strong under Manuel Pellegrini, keeping pace at the top of the Premier League and winning the League Cup final in early March. But Barcelona ultimately quashed their hopes with a dominant performance in the Champions League last 16 tie, while Wigan - yes, them again - sent them crashing out of the FA Cup quarter-finals.

Why the quadruple remains English football's impossible dream

In December, Pep Guardiola dismissed the possibility of Manchester City winning the quadruple this season as "impossible", and this week's events have proven him right. While the Premier League title is as good as wrapped up and only one Sunday's final separates them from a Carabao Cup win, a shock defeat in the FA Cup at Wigan put to bed any remaining possibility of glory on four fronts. The treble has been achieved by United, and City could still win a treble of their own this season, but the quadruple remains an impossible dream, never realised and possibly never to be achieved. Here, we remember the teams that came closest to winning all four competitions, with a look at where - and when - their quadruple bid ended. Leeds United - 1969/70 The ultimate 'nearly' season. Don Revie's great side came desperately close to winning three of four available trophies, finishing as Division One runners-up (albeit by a nine-point margin) to Everton, losing FA Cup finalists (they were beaten by Chelsea in a replay in a famous bad-tempered encounter) and being beaten in the European Cup semi-finals by Celtic. A great team that ended the season empty-handed Credit: Getty images Nottingham Forest, 1978/79 Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest won two of the four trophies on offer in the 1978-79 season, and were fighting on four fronts until the end of February, when they were beaten by Arsenal in the FA Cup fifth round. They went on to lift the European Cup for the first time in the club's history in 1979 - they would win it again the following year - but were pipped to the First Division title by Liverpool. Liverpool, 1983/84 Joe Fagan's first season in charge of Liverpool saw them become the first English club to record a treble after winning the First Division, European Cup and League Cup. Ian Rush led the way with 32 goals, but hopes of a quadruple had been derailed at the end of January after a 2-0 loss away at Brighton in the FA Cup fourth round. Liverpool won a treble but could not add the FA Cup Credit: Getty images Manchester United, 1998/99 After finishing the previous season trophyless, Manchester United made amends by pipping Arsenal to the Premier League title, lifting the FA Cup and famously defeating Bayern Munich in injury time to win the European Cup, all in the space of 11 days in May. However, their quadruple hopes had been scuppered reasonably early - courtesy of a defeat in the League Cup quarter-finals to Tottenham. Manchester United, 2002/03 United harboured hopes of four major honours until a disastrous four-week spell ended their hopes in three of them: they were beaten in the FA Cup fifth round by Arsenal, the League Cup final by Liverpool and in the Champions League by Real Madrid. Their 'consolation' was winning the Premier League title by five points from Arsenal, who had led for most of the campaign until a late-season collapse. Quadruple nearly men Arsenal, 2003/04 Arsene Wenger's side may have been invincible in the league but they fell just short in the other major competitions. Their quadruple challenge was ended in the League Cup semi-finals by Middlesbrough on Feb 5, while they were knocked out of the FA Cup by Manchester United and the Champions League by Chelsea. Chelsea, 2006/07 The nearest any English club has come to a quadruple, with Jose Mourinho's side having genuine hopes of succcess in all four competitions until May 1, when they were beaten on penalties by Liverpool in the Champions League semi-finals. A run of draws then demolished their hopes of a third straight league title, although they did win a League Cup and FA Cup double, with Didier Drogba ending the season with 33 goals. Chelsea came painfully close to winning all four competitions Credit: getty images Manchester United, 2008/09 Unitedwon the Premier League for the third consecutive year and beat Tottenham on penalties to add the League Cup to their trophy cabinet. Though they lost to Everton by the same means in the FA Cup semi-final and lost 2-0 to Barcelona in the Champions League Final, denying them a quadruple. Manchester City, 2013/14 City looked ominously strong under Manuel Pellegrini, keeping pace at the top of the Premier League and winning the League Cup final in early March. But Barcelona ultimately quashed their hopes with a dominant performance in the Champions League last 16 tie, while Wigan - yes, them again - sent them crashing out of the FA Cup quarter-finals.

Why the quadruple remains English football's impossible dream

In December, Pep Guardiola dismissed the possibility of Manchester City winning the quadruple this season as "impossible", and this week's events have proven him right. While the Premier League title is as good as wrapped up and only one Sunday's final separates them from a Carabao Cup win, a shock defeat in the FA Cup at Wigan put to bed any remaining possibility of glory on four fronts. The treble has been achieved by United, and City could still win a treble of their own this season, but the quadruple remains an impossible dream, never realised and possibly never to be achieved. Here, we remember the teams that came closest to winning all four competitions, with a look at where - and when - their quadruple bid ended. Leeds United - 1969/70 The ultimate 'nearly' season. Don Revie's great side came desperately close to winning three of four available trophies, finishing as Division One runners-up (albeit by a nine-point margin) to Everton, losing FA Cup finalists (they were beaten by Chelsea in a replay in a famous bad-tempered encounter) and being beaten in the European Cup semi-finals by Celtic. A great team that ended the season empty-handed Credit: Getty images Nottingham Forest, 1978/79 Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest won two of the four trophies on offer in the 1978-79 season, and were fighting on four fronts until the end of February, when they were beaten by Arsenal in the FA Cup fifth round. They went on to lift the European Cup for the first time in the club's history in 1979 - they would win it again the following year - but were pipped to the First Division title by Liverpool. Liverpool, 1983/84 Joe Fagan's first season in charge of Liverpool saw them become the first English club to record a treble after winning the First Division, European Cup and League Cup. Ian Rush led the way with 32 goals, but hopes of a quadruple had been derailed at the end of January after a 2-0 loss away at Brighton in the FA Cup fourth round. Liverpool won a treble but could not add the FA Cup Credit: Getty images Manchester United, 1998/99 After finishing the previous season trophyless, Manchester United made amends by pipping Arsenal to the Premier League title, lifting the FA Cup and famously defeating Bayern Munich in injury time to win the European Cup, all in the space of 11 days in May. However, their quadruple hopes had been scuppered reasonably early - courtesy of a defeat in the League Cup quarter-finals to Tottenham. Manchester United, 2002/03 United harboured hopes of four major honours until a disastrous four-week spell ended their hopes in three of them: they were beaten in the FA Cup fifth round by Arsenal, the League Cup final by Liverpool and in the Champions League by Real Madrid. Their 'consolation' was winning the Premier League title by five points from Arsenal, who had led for most of the campaign until a late-season collapse. Quadruple nearly men Arsenal, 2003/04 Arsene Wenger's side may have been invincible in the league but they fell just short in the other major competitions. Their quadruple challenge was ended in the League Cup semi-finals by Middlesbrough on Feb 5, while they were knocked out of the FA Cup by Manchester United and the Champions League by Chelsea. Chelsea, 2006/07 The nearest any English club has come to a quadruple, with Jose Mourinho's side having genuine hopes of succcess in all four competitions until May 1, when they were beaten on penalties by Liverpool in the Champions League semi-finals. A run of draws then demolished their hopes of a third straight league title, although they did win a League Cup and FA Cup double, with Didier Drogba ending the season with 33 goals. Chelsea came painfully close to winning all four competitions Credit: getty images Manchester United, 2008/09 Unitedwon the Premier League for the third consecutive year and beat Tottenham on penalties to add the League Cup to their trophy cabinet. Though they lost to Everton by the same means in the FA Cup semi-final and lost 2-0 to Barcelona in the Champions League Final, denying them a quadruple. Manchester City, 2013/14 City looked ominously strong under Manuel Pellegrini, keeping pace at the top of the Premier League and winning the League Cup final in early March. But Barcelona ultimately quashed their hopes with a dominant performance in the Champions League last 16 tie, while Wigan - yes, them again - sent them crashing out of the FA Cup quarter-finals.

Rochdale's Ian Henderson could be pulling teeth rather than taking on Harry Kane and co

There is a fair chance that Ian Henderson is the only player in the fifth round of the FA Cup who has been asked to smear himself in the blood of a ritually slaughtered goat at the start of the first training session of a football season. It is certainly not the kind of thing Harry Kane would ever have been confronted with. Even when he was on loan at Leyton Orient. But it happened to Rochdale FC’s captain when was playing for the Turkish side Ankaragucu at the time. “That was one interesting experience,” he says, after a shooting session at the club’s base at Manchester City’s former training ground. “They’ve slaughtered the goat on the pitch, hung it up to bleed out and then rubbed blood on people’s heads. They asked me to come over but I wasn’t doing that. Another tradition they had on birthdays was they’d smack you on the head with an egg. Happy birthday, have that. Luckily I wasn’t there long enough to celebrate my birthday.” He does not believe his team-mates need to resort to superstition even when the League One side are about to take on Kane’s high-flying Tottenham. “As players and as a football club we have nothing to fear about playing Tottenham,” he says. “We know we are the underdogs and just have to give ourselves the best opportunity by playing well and at a high tempo, as the manager wants us to play.” Henderson has no worries about facing Spurs Credit: AFP Henderson is more than aware of the club’s capabilities. He has been at Rochdale for the past five seasons, making 181 appearances as, under the shrewd guidance of the manager Keith Hill, they have recently defeated more elevated sides like Leeds, Nottingham Forest and Millwall in the FA Cup. After an unfortunate experience in Turkey (it wasn’t so much the goat or the eggs as the fact he wasn’t paid for six months that made him decide to come home) the former Norwich, Northampton, Luton and Colchester forward was considering a significant career change. “I was humming and hawing about whether to continue playing football or go to university to study dentistry,” he says. “I wanted to be an orthodontist. I didn’t have the most aesthetically pleasing teeth as a kid and I was intrigued by the whole process.” But he went for a trial at Rochdale, just to see if he really should pack in the game. After being impressed by the way Hill operates, he decided to forego a life looking into people’s mouths and give football another go. He said: “I wish I’d met the manager earlier in my career because you try to work with people who understand you as a person and let you perform how you want to perform.”

Rochdale's Ian Henderson could be pulling teeth rather than taking on Harry Kane and co

There is a fair chance that Ian Henderson is the only player in the fifth round of the FA Cup who has been asked to smear himself in the blood of a ritually slaughtered goat at the start of the first training session of a football season. It is certainly not the kind of thing Harry Kane would ever have been confronted with. Even when he was on loan at Leyton Orient. But it happened to Rochdale FC’s captain when was playing for the Turkish side Ankaragucu at the time. “That was one interesting experience,” he says, after a shooting session at the club’s base at Manchester City’s former training ground. “They’ve slaughtered the goat on the pitch, hung it up to bleed out and then rubbed blood on people’s heads. They asked me to come over but I wasn’t doing that. Another tradition they had on birthdays was they’d smack you on the head with an egg. Happy birthday, have that. Luckily I wasn’t there long enough to celebrate my birthday.” He does not believe his team-mates need to resort to superstition even when the League One side are about to take on Kane’s high-flying Tottenham. “As players and as a football club we have nothing to fear about playing Tottenham,” he says. “We know we are the underdogs and just have to give ourselves the best opportunity by playing well and at a high tempo, as the manager wants us to play.” Henderson has no worries about facing Spurs Credit: AFP Henderson is more than aware of the club’s capabilities. He has been at Rochdale for the past five seasons, making 181 appearances as, under the shrewd guidance of the manager Keith Hill, they have recently defeated more elevated sides like Leeds, Nottingham Forest and Millwall in the FA Cup. After an unfortunate experience in Turkey (it wasn’t so much the goat or the eggs as the fact he wasn’t paid for six months that made him decide to come home) the former Norwich, Northampton, Luton and Colchester forward was considering a significant career change. “I was humming and hawing about whether to continue playing football or go to university to study dentistry,” he says. “I wanted to be an orthodontist. I didn’t have the most aesthetically pleasing teeth as a kid and I was intrigued by the whole process.” But he went for a trial at Rochdale, just to see if he really should pack in the game. After being impressed by the way Hill operates, he decided to forego a life looking into people’s mouths and give football another go. He said: “I wish I’d met the manager earlier in my career because you try to work with people who understand you as a person and let you perform how you want to perform.”